What is "the bends"

Caisson disease \Cais"son dis*ease"\ (Med.) A disease frequently induced by remaining for some time in an atmosphere of high pressure, as in caissons, diving bells, etc. It is characterized by neuralgic pains and paralytic symptoms. It is caused by the release of bubbles of gas, usually nitrogen, from bodily fluids into the blood and tissues, when a person, having been in an environment with high air pressure, moves to a lower pressure environment too rapidly for the excess dissolved gases to be released through normal breathing. It may be fatal, but can be reversed or alleviated by returning the affected person to a high air pressure, and then gradually decreasing the pressure to allow the gases to be released from the body fluids. It is a danger well known to divers. It is also called the bends and decompression sickness. It can be prevented in divers by a slow return to normal pressure, or by using a breathing mixture of oxygen combined with a gas having low solubility in water, such as helium.

Bend \Bend\, n. [See Bend, v. t., and cf. Bent, n.]

1. A turn or deflection from a straight line or from the proper direction or normal position; a curve; a crook; as, a slight bend of the body; a bend in a road.

2. Turn; purpose; inclination; ends. [Obs.]

   Farewell, poor swain; thou art not for my bend.
   --Fletcher.

3. (Naut.) A knot by which one rope is fastened to another or to an anchor, spar, or post.
   --Totten.

4. (Leather Trade) The best quality of sole leather; a butt. See Butt.

5. (Mining) Hard, indurated clay; bind.

6. pl. (Med.) same as caisson disease. Usually referred to as the bends.

   Bends of a ship, the thickest and strongest planks in her sides, more generally called wales. They have the beams, knees, and foothooks bolted to them. Also, the frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to the top of the sides; as, the midship bend.

n. (context pathology English) A sometimes fatal condition resulting from the formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood and tissues, because of too rapid decompression, seen especially in deep-sea divers ascending rapidly from a dive. It is characterized by severe pains in the joints and chest, skin irritation, cramps, nausea, and paralysis.

The Bends is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone Records internationally and by Capitol Records in the United States. The album was produced by John Leckie at EMI Studios in London, England and engineered by Nigel Godrich, who would go on to co-produce all future albums by the band. The Bends marked the beginning of a shift in aesthetics and themes for the band, with greater use of keyboards, and more abrasive guitar tracks while balancing with subtler ones. The introspective grunge-influenced style of their debut studio album Pablo Honey (1993) evolved into more multi-layered rock with cryptic lyrics and larger ideas, as the band and singer Thom Yorke reacted against the rigors of their near-constant world tours.

The Bends received greater critical acclaim than Pablo Honey, receiving an enthusiastic critical reaction, and it reached #4 on the UK Albums Chart. However, it failed to build on the commercial success of the single " Creep" outside of the United Kingdom, and it peaked on the United States charts at #88. Although it lacked the instant success of Radiohead's subsequent albums, The Bends achieved triple platinum sales certifications in the UK and in Canada, as well as platinum sales certifications in the United States (by the Recording Industry Association of America) and in Europe. The album spawned five charting singles; My Iron Lung was first released as an EP in 1994 before the album was released, and later " High and Dry" was released with the album's opener " Planet Telex" as its B-side. " Fake Plastic Trees" was released as the second single from The Bends, followed by " Just". " Street Spirit (Fade Out)", the final single and last song on the album, became their first top 5 hit in the United Kingdom. In the years since its release, the album has frequently appeared in listener polls and critics' lists of the best albums of all time.