A medical treatment in which patients breathe pure oxygen while inside a pressurized chamber, typically at pressures 2-3 times normal atmospheric pressure. It is used to treat decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, and certain wound healing disorders.
From Greek 'hyper' meaning above or beyond, and 'baros' meaning weight or pressure, combined with oxygen. The term reflects the treatment's use of oxygen at pressures higher than normal atmospheric conditions.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can increase the amount of oxygen dissolved in blood plasma by up to 20 times normal levels, reaching tissues that damaged blood vessels can't supply. This super-oxygenation can actually help grow new blood vessels and fight infections that thrive in low-oxygen environments!
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