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At 4:09 AM +0000 8/8/96, Goldes wrote:
>In "The Mixed Gas Diving Book" by Gilliam, mount, et al... There is a table
>listing the narcotic properies of most gases.  Does anyone have the data
>for oxygen???

I don't have Gilliam's book in front of me, but I believe that the list
you're refering to lists the narcotic effects of *inert* gases in the order
of their physiologic effects. I recall the list since I was trying at one
time to correlate the molecular weights to the narcotic effects at depth.

Not surprisingly, I don't recall O2 being on the list. Oxygen is *not*
inert and therefore does react in ways physiologically and chemically quite
different from the inert gases. Hence O2 won't be on that particular list
(or shouldn't be at least). "Inert" is somewhat of a misnomer since to the
chemists they're" inert" (can't exchange outer shell electrons) but to
divers they have very "active" physiologic and central nervous system
effects.

Hey, anything that makes me act stupid underwater (let me rephrase...more
stupid than I act on dry land) is hard to think of as "inert".

Oxygen at depth through radical and other mechanisms not fully understood
can (and does) have a toxic effect on the central nervous system (leading
to convulsions and the like) but not a "narcotic" effect in the strict
medical sense of the word (loss of alertness, dulling of the senses, loss
of inhibitions and so forth).

They all involve the central nervous system, just in different ways. So, O2
should be dealt with somewhat as a separate issue from the true chemically
inert gas group.

Then again...I could be wrong!

  ;-)

Hoping not to silt-up the waters.

Robb Wolov

====================================
CDR Robert B. Wolov, MC, (FS), USNR
Department of Orthopedic Pathology
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Washington, DC 20306-6000

wolov@hi*.co* (preferred)
wolov@em*.af*.os*.mi*

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