PADI Divemaster Certification Practice Exam

After 60 minutes at a certain depth, how much of the way to equilibrium is a tissue compartment?

1. 1/4

2. 1/2

3. 3/4

4. Full

The correct answer is: 1/2

In the context of decompression and tissue saturation during scuba diving, tissue compartments refer to how gases (like nitrogen) are absorbed and eliminated from body tissues at varying depths and times. The concept of "half time" is essential in understanding how quickly tissues reach saturation with inert gases, primarily nitrogen. After an initial exposure to a certain depth, the tissues begin to absorb nitrogen from the breathing gas. The specific "half time" of a tissue compartment indicates the duration it takes for that tissue compartment to reach half of its maximum potential saturation with inert gas. For many common diving scenarios, it is generally accepted that, after 60 minutes at a certain depth, a tissue compartment will be approximately halfway to its equilibrium state, or saturation. In this case, after the designated time of 60 minutes, the correct understanding is that a tissue compartment is indeed at 1/2 the way to full saturation. This means that its nitrogen levels are halfway to what they would eventually stabilize at after a longer duration of exposure to the same pressure. The implications of this are crucial for dive planning and decompression strategies to reduce the risks of decompression sickness.