366 Historical 



Evident improvement two days afterwards; the patient sees 

 vaguely. Vision remains weak and pupils are abnormally dilated. 



XXI. At his first trial, too rapid decompression. Severe muscular 

 pains persisting for six days. 



XXII. At his first trial, too rapid decompression. Loss of con- 

 sciousness, resolution of limbs; respiration embarrassed, pulse full, 

 hard, 130. 



Bleeding blood red, blistering; after four hours, consciousness 

 returns. During the night, cramps and muscular pains of terrible 

 violence. 



Survives, but with great weakness of vision and extreme deafness. 

 (P. 265-275.) 



I shall now quote the description of the complication whicch 

 attacked M. Pol himself, because it contains the account of a very 

 strange symptom, upon the importance of which we shall dwell 

 later. The pressure undergone had been 3.48 atmospheres: 



At 11 o'clock, he reached his lodging; he felt keen pains in his 

 left arm and shoulder; the walls of the thorax were also painful. It 

 seemed to him that emphysema existed in these regions .... About 

 midnight, he had a few chills, followed by vomiting. He took a cup 

 of tea and went to sleep; soon abundant sweat broke out. The next 

 day, he was in his usual condition. (P. 250.) 



In summary, the symptoms noted, at the time of decompression, 

 are as follows: 



Respiratory difficulties, which may go as far as anxiety; 



Acceleration and hardness of the pulse; 



Muscular pains which are often very severe: "none of the 

 effects of decompression appeared so general; sole symptom in 

 many cases, it is the initial symptom in almost all .... It is the 

 first and the largest link in a chain which includes successively, 

 by ascending order of severity and descending order of frequency, 

 non-permanent or clonic spasm, resolution, and finally sideration" 

 (P. 227) ; 



Cerebral symptoms, dullness of intellect, loss of sensitivity and 

 consciousness, coma. Deafness, blindness, very often permanent; 



Finally, sudden death. 



The reading of the observations abstracted above shows what 

 a variety of form and intensity is presented by the symptoms, even 

 for the same pressures, in different individuals, and sometimes in 

 the same individual. 



MM. Pol and Watelle noted that young men from 18 to 26 

 resisted much better than mature men; out of the 25 who were 

 discharged, 19 were more than 40 years old, and 5 were more than 

 30; the other was 28 years old. 



