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Depth Blog

The most useful snippets from our authors, all in one place. DEPTH discusses topics of diving, equipment and environment, physics and physiology, technique and technology, and hyperbarics.

Anatomy of the Skin Anatomy of the Skin An Introduction
Anatomy of the Skin (An Introduction)
Eric vanBok
Uncategorized
Skin is an integumentary system at the interface between the human organism and its environment. The boundary limits of skin are found at its transition to mucosal surfaces of the respiratory, alimentary, and urogenital systems; at the conjunctival epithelium of the eye; at the ductal epithelium of the lacrimal and mammary ducts; and at the tympani
Hyperbaric Facility Safety
How Accidents Happen In The Hyperbaric Environment
Eric vanBok
Hyperbaric Facility Safety
For some accidents there is a "smoking gun". However, most accidents are caused by a combination of factors, each of which contributes in some manner. Often these factors accumulate over some period of time preceeding the accident. This chapter addresses the factors that foster conditions under which accidents are more likely to happen and discusse
Learn Hyperbaric Facility Safety
The 2 Aspects of Hyperbaric Safety
Eric vanBok
Hyperbaric Facility Safety
There are two distinct aspects to the field of hyperbaric medicine that influence safety:  Technology (hardware)The operators of that technology (software).  HBO2 is a technology-based therapy, supported There are two distinct aspects to the field of hyperbaric medicine that influence safety: technology (hardware) and the operators o
Earth-Day-Kids-Website-Graphics Celebrate Earth Day with BestKids Club
Kid-Friendly Earth Day Ideas and Resources
Eric vanBok
BPC Kids
Kid-Friendly Ideas and Resources Create Egg Carton Turtles Read: Gracie Green Turtle Finds Her Beachhttps://www.bestpub.com/testdesign/books/children/product/gracie-green-turtle-finds-her-beach/category_pathway-99.htmlActivity, Egg Carton Turtles: https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/create-egg-carton-turtles Make a recycled
Tribute to Alese Pechter: A life of love, joy, and wonder
Eric vanBok
BPC Kids
Alese Pechter, an icon of the scuba diving industry, has left a legacy of love, joy, and constant wonder at the world around her.  Alese had a profound impact on the diving industry, helping to grow the sport through her underwater photography and environmental advocacy. She was dedicated to educating future generations in exploring and protec
An Unexpected Odyssey
Eric vanBok
Eric P. Kindwall, MD
We had entered a dense fog bank! I had a rather helpless feeling, as a boy of 18, guiding 2,300 tons of steel into the unknown at ten knots, with no way of notifying anyone. Fortunately after a few minutes, which seemed like an eternity, the mate returned to the bridge. Flipping on the radar on the port side of the wheelhouse, he remarked, "Looks like we've got a bit of thick weather." He stepped out on the bridge wing and blew his police whistle to alert Kalle Holm, my watch partner. Kalle immediately stuck his head over the top of the bridge ladder and was ordered to the bow to stand lookout.  When the radar had warmed up, the mate said, "Looks like we've got another ship out there. Give her five degrees starboard." I heard the ship's bell strike three times . . . It was the other ship's bow lookout and we were directly in his path! I saw a huge bow as high as our wheelhouse loom out of the fog!" The above is just one of the hair-raising experiences described by Dr. Kindwall as he writes of his time in the merchant marines, and via Yale and Harvard, running a safe-house for the CIA, submarine school, patrol on an early Polaris nuclear submarine, and work with "sandhogs" in compressed air tunnel construction.  Find more details here about the book, "Unexpected Odyssey, From Merchant Sailor to Hyperbaric Physician" by Eric P. Kindwall, MD  
What-can-be-used-to-disinfect-acrylic-chambers
What can be used to disinfect acrylic chambers?
Eric vanBok
Hyperbaric Facility Safety
In many hospitals that treat hyperbaric patients, the task at hand is getting the infection control policy makers to understand that many of the hospital-based disinfectants cannot safely be used on the acrylics of both multiplace and monoplace chambers. The most-asked question is, “What can now be used to disinfect acrylic chambers?” Wit
Gas Gangrene: Antiobiotics vs. HBO2
Eric vanBok
Hyperbaric Medicine
Although the incidence of clostridial myonecrosis infections has dropped precipitously in recent decades, it always remins a threat in injuries where contamination and severe tissue disruption have occurred. The decreased incidence of clostridial myonecrosis is attributed to the increased diligence of clinicians in preventing clostridial organ
Clinical Presentation of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Eric vanBok
Hyperbaric Medicine
Carbon monoxide exposed patients commonly present with nonspecific symptoms that mimic influenza-like illnesses (Table 1). Symptoms typically include headache, dizziness, nausea, vomting, weakness, and fatigue. The most common symptom reports is headache. Because these symptoms are so nonspecific, the treating physician must retain a high level of
Dr. Michael Strauss Receives Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award
Eric vanBok
Breaking News
Dr. Michael Strauss received the inaugural Best Publishing Company Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, June 28, 2018. The award was presented during the UHMS Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The Best Publishing Company Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes and promotes individuals who have made significant career contributions to
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