The role of radiology in dive-related disorders

Recreational scuba diving has continued to grow in popularity in the past several decades, and military diving remains an integral part of ship husbandry, explosives and ordinance disposal, and special warfare. Although relatively uncommon, disorders such as decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism can be fatal, whereas disorders such as ear baro-trauma and dysbaric osteonecrosis are not fatal but can cause significant morbidity. An extensive literature search was performed to comprehensively examine the current role of diagnostic radiology with respect to diving medicine. In selected cases, diagnostic imaging can be of potential benefit for evaluation. Diagnostic imaging plays a useful role in the screening of certain individuals for future fitness to dive. Radiological imaging has also been of paramount importance in postmortem evaluation of dive casualties.