Cumulative sperm whale bone damage and the bends
- PMID: 15618509
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1105452
Cumulative sperm whale bone damage and the bends
Abstract
Diving mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and humans develop dysbaric osteonecrosis from end-artery nitrogen embolism ("the bends") in certain bones. Sixteen sperm whales from calves to large adults showed a size-related development of osteonecrosis in chevron and rib bone articulations, deltoid crests, and nasal bones. Occurrence in animals from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans over 111 years made a pathophysiological diagnosis of dysbarism most likely. Decompression avoidance therefore may constrain diving behavior. This suggests why some deep-diving mammals show periodic shallow-depth activity and why gas emboli are found in animals driven to surface precipitously by acoustic stressors such as mid-frequency sonar systems.
Comment in
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What causes lesions in sperm whale bones?Science. 2005 Apr 29;308(5722):631-2; author reply 631-2. doi: 10.1126/science.308.5722.631c. Science. 2005. PMID: 15864830 No abstract available.
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What causes lesions in sperm whale bones?Science. 2005 Apr 29;308(5722):631-2; author reply 631-2. Science. 2005. PMID: 15864831 No abstract available.
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