Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-23

rise or, fall of pressure might have
serious effects.
So much work has been done al
ready with 'the iron doctor" in the
| treatment of divers that tables OF a
high degree of accuracy have been
made to guard against overoxygen-
izing the patient and causing oxygen
poisoning.
Largest in Service.
The navy yard decomposition cham
Der Is the largest and newest in Serv-
ice at present. Others are under con-
struction. 1t was built at the Norfolk
Navy Yard in 1925. It 'reSembleS big
boiler set in horizontal position. On
its sides are a maze of gauges, valves
and other paraphernella.
1t is built in three compartments, the
man lock, the medical lock and the
air lock.
At the entrance end is lock about
4 feet long, with massive circular
steel doors which lead outside and into
the medical lock- This lock allows the
attending physician or the lock tender
to enter or leave the medical lock with
out disturbing the air pressure WITHIN
With a man in the medical lock under
pressure, the tender or physician can
eT1LeT IIle HAL 4OSA' SduoAAHC "A'S ~ 10
sure of the smaller lock with that of
the larger. and then open the door of
the medical lock.
At the other end of the chamber is
the air lock, used chiefly for passing
into the medical lock medicines. This
is a lock too small to permit the pas
sage of a man. It is about feet
in diameter and about 2 feet deep,
and it's workings are on exactly the
same basis as the man lock.
Gauges so delicate that they VIII
record even light rap upon the sides
of the massive steel tank while air
is being shot into it, keep the attendants
fully appraised of every phase OF Its
physical workings.
Reports on file with the Navy De-
partment give some of the more re-
markable results attributed by Mr.. Tib-
balls to compression alone.
One case is that of Chief BoatSWaln'S
Mate Z. w. Evartson, who in 1922 had
his sight in one eye restored during
treatments in 1.-THE Iron Doctor" under
Mr.. TibbalS.
Evartson was injured while working
aboard the Navy submarine rescue ship
Falcon. A piece of flying steel cut across
the bridge of his nose and ripped into
his left eyeball. cutting out part of the
ball at the pupil. At the hospital, the
eye bled inwardly and clotS formed on
the optic nerves back of it and caused
total blindness in the member. For
time it was feared by physicians that
the eye would have to come out, to save
the other eye. but this was avoided.
EvartSon, at his own request, was
sent back to duty aboard the Falcon.
of which Mr. Tibbals was commanding
officer. He was put to work as lock
tender in the decomposition chamber of
the ship and in this work frequently
was under pressure with divers.
Experiment With Diver.
Some short while after his return to
duty EvartSon was in the compression
chamber with Tibbals and diver I'M
der pressure, when he discovered that
when he sneezed or blew his nose
small particles of dried blood were COM
ing out of his nose and mouth. While
this was happening he discovered he
had, very dimly, sight in his injured
eye. He told Mr.. Tibbals of 1t and to
prove it told the time by Mr.. Tibbals
watch, holding the uninjured eye tightly
closed Evartson Immediately was sent
to a physician, who charted the loca-
lions of the clots behind the injured
eyeball. Then Tibbals gave Evartson
series of treatments under pressure,
with varying amounts Of oxygen. He
described the treatments as a process