Oxygen toxicity is a condition resulting from the harmful effects of breathing molecular oxygen at elevated partial pressures. Severe cases can result in cell damage and death, with effects most often seen in the central nervous system, lungs and eyes. Oxygen toxicity is a concern for scuba divers, those on high concentrations of supplemental oxygen (particularly premature babies), and those undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The result of breathing elevated concentrations of oxygen is hyperoxia, an excess of oxygen in body tissues. Central nervous system toxicity is caused by short exposure to high concentrations of oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure. Pulmonary and ocular toxicity result from longer exposure to elevated oxygen levels at normal pressure. Symptoms may include disorientation, breathing problems, and vision changes such as myopia. Prolonged or very high oxygen concentrations can cause oxidative damage to cell membranes, the collapse of the alveoli in the lungs, retinal detachment, and seizures. Oxygen toxicity is managed by reducing the exposure to elevated oxygen levels. Studies show that, in the long term, a good recovery from most types of oxygen toxicity is possible. Prevention of oxygen toxicity is an important precaution whenever oxygen is breathed at partial pressures greater than normal. It has led to use of protocols for avoidance of hyperoxia in such fields as scuba diving, hyperbaric medicine, neonatal care and human spaceflight.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_toxicity

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1422:

As the only heir to the throne, Henry VI became King of England at the age of eight months following the death of his father Henry V. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VI_of_England

1888:

Mary Ann Nichols' body was found on the ground in front of a gated stable entrance in Buck's Row, London, allegedly the first victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper

1907:

The Great Game: Russia and Great Britain signed the Anglo-Russian Entente, defining their respective spheres of interest in Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Russian_Entente

1939:

Nazi forces mounted a staged attack on a German radio station in Gleiwitz, then part of Germany, to create the appearance of Polish aggression on their country, giving them an excuse to invade Poland the following day and begin World War II in Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleiwitz_incident

1986:

After a collision with a freighter, the Soviet ocean liner Admiral Nakhimov sank in the Tsemes Bay area of the Black Sea within seven minutes, killing over 400 on board. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Admiral_Nakhimov

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

articulation (n): 1. A joint or the collection of joints at which something is articulated, or hinged, for bending. 2. The quality, clarity, or sharpness of speech. 3. (music) The manner in which something is tongued, slurred or bowed. 4. (accounting) A state in which the elements of financial statements are fundamentally interrelated http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/articulation

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The writer is a spiritual anarchist, as in the depth of his soul every man is. He is discontented with everything and everybody. The writer is everybody's best friend and only true enemy — the good and great enemy. He neither walks with the multitude nor cheers with them. The writer who is a writer is a rebel who never stops. --William Saroyan http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Saroyan