Hyperbaric medicine

Hyperbaric medicine is the branch of medicine in which clinical therapies are delivered in pressurized vessels containing prescribed barometric pressures of gases such as air or oxygen. The immediate effects include reducing the size of gas emboli and raising the partial pressures of the gases present. Initial uses were in decompression sickness, and it is also effective in certain cases of gas gangrene and carbon monoxide poisoning. There are risks associated with hyperbaric therapy, including barotrauma, and, if pure oxygen is used, a fire hazard.