Certified Hyperbaric Technologist Practice Test

What principle describes the phenomenon of increasing pressure outside the body making gas bubbles inside the body shrink?

1. Archimedes' Principle

2. Boyle's Law

3. Pascal's Law

4. Charles's Law

The correct answer is: Pascal's Law

The phenomenon of increasing pressure outside the body resulting in the shrinkage of gas bubbles inside the body is best described by Boyle's Law. This principle states that, at a constant temperature, the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume. As external pressure increases, the volume of the gas decreases, leading to the shrinkage of any gas bubbles present in the body. Understanding Boyle's Law is crucial in hyperbaric medicine, as it helps explain how changes in environmental pressure, such as during a dive or in a hyperbaric chamber, affect the behavior of gases in the tissues and in gas-filled spaces within the body. While Archimedes' Principle pertains to buoyancy and the upward force experienced by objects submerged in a fluid, Pascal's Law deals with the transmission of pressure in fluids. Charles's Law relates to the behavior of gases when temperature changes while keeping pressure constant, rather than the effect of increasing pressure. Therefore, Boyle's Law is the appropriate principle for this scenario.