>
>I'd like to hear what your buddy, the hyperbaric physiologist has to say.
>
>One list member has suggested to me that the heavily overweight divers may 
>actually absorb less nitrogen then currently assumed (based on Nitrogen 
>solubility in fat) because of the extremely poor vascularization of fatty 
>tissues (this means slower in and MUCH SLOWER OUT), which would place 
>diffusion rates in these tissues at well below what will occur in areas with 
>well developed capillary beds..

That's a tough factor to quantify, but fatty tissue is not that poorly 
vascularized. When you think about it anatomically, in order for the body 
to use fat stores (which is after all the plan) then you need a fairly 
generous blood supply to transport triglycerides and all that good energy 
providing stuff out into the body. If you look at fat under a microscope 
you can see a fairly rich network of capilaries around the fat cells. 
(nothing like the lungs...but not "avascular" either) So I personally 
have little doubt that the N2 in the blood can find it's way pretty well 
to the fat.

Robb Wolov

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