For instance, bowel gas in the area of the uterus may hasten the delivery process as the body attempts to relieve the surrounding pressure created by gas expansion. Boyle's law also explains the mechanism by which air is exchanged between the atmosphere and the lungs. If the container a gas occupies is doubled, the pressure within the container will be halved. The lungs work under this principle. This action decreases the pressure within the chest cavity to that of sub-atmospheric, causing ambient air to rush in until the pressure is equal to atmospheric.
Gas expansion can effect equipment designed to hold gas.
For instance, anti-shock trousers or MAST suits contain gas and are used to apply pressure to the lower extremities 3 . As altitude increases, the gas inside the suit will expand causing the pressure exerted on the patient to rise. This increase must be monitored in order to assure patient safety. Daltons Law Dalton's law is the law of partial pressure. As a further example of Dalton's law, the partial pressures of the more concentrated gases are listed in table 1.1.