Abstract
Free gas within the human body tends to increase in volume when a person ascends in altitude and to decrease in volume when the atmospheric pressure is increased. This is in accordance with Boyle's law, which states that the volume occupied by a given quantity of gas is inversely proportional to the absolute pressure exerted on it (figs. 1, 2 and 3). Gas enclosed within a body cavity is under pressure of the external atmosphere, but this pressure can be modified significantly by the elastic properties of the walls of the enclosing organ and by pressure of surrounding structures. Those body cavities which communicate with the external atmosphere, such as the paranasal sinuses, are capable of equalizing pressure changes, provided the ostiums are not obstructed, but such equilization is not possible within the cavity of a closed pneumothorax. These changes occur at comparatively low altitudes; for example, 1,000 cc. of
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