USCG Boat Crew Practice Exam

"The bends," also known as decompression sickness, refers specifically to a condition that occurs when a diver ascends too quickly after spending time at depths where the pressure is significantly higher. During a dive, the body absorbs more nitrogen from the breathing gas under such high pressure. If the ascent is too rapid, the nitrogen dissolved in the bloodstream forms bubbles as pressure decreases. These bubbles can cause a variety of symptoms, including joint pain (often referred to as "the bends"), as well as more serious complications affecting the nervous system, lungs, and other organs.

In contrast to this, a form of joint pain, muscular cramps during activity, and infections related to diving do not encompass the distinct physiological process that defines decompression sickness. While joint pain can occur as one of the symptoms of "the bends," it does not capture the full spectrum of the condition, which is fundamentally about the pathological effects of nitrogen bubbles forming within the body during rapid decompression.