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Walk the Even Hospital Database by book and chapter — the raw source passages that ground Ask, DDx, and the rest.
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Dissolution is the process where a solute in a gaseous, liquid, or solid phase dissolves in a solvent to form a solution.[1][2][3] Solubility is the maximum concentration of a solute that can dissolve in a solvent at a given temperature. At the maximum solute concentration, the solution is said to be saturated. The units of solubility can be provided in mol/L or g/L. Factors that affect solubility include the concentration of the solute, temperature of the system, pressure (for gases in solution), and polarity of the solute and the solvent.
Application of Henry's Law: Decompression Sickness Henry's law explains the phenomena of decompression sickness. When scuba divers submerge themselves in deep water, the pressure of the water increases the pressure in their bodies. Nitrogen, a gas in our blood, dissolves under the increased pressure. Nitrogen is physiologically inert, so it is not used in tissue metabolism. If the scuba diver ascends to the surface too quickly, the rapid drop in pressure decreases the solubility of nitrogen, causing nitrogen bubbles to come out of the solution. The nitrogen bubbles can form painful and potentially fatal gas embolisms.