From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe bendsthe bendsMIa painful and serious condition that divers get if they come up from deep water too quickly → bend
Examples from the Corpus
the bends• As an added precaution against the bends, some whales have very large windpipes.• The ability to collapse their lung air-sacs with increasing depth is probably the dolphin's major protection against the bends.• The connection between dehydration and the bends is now quite clear.• If it happens too quickly, the gas forms bubbles in the blood that can block small arteries and cause the bends.• He kept to the inside of the bends where the current was fastest and more powerful than the onshore wind.• Then they took the last of the bends and approached the magnificent view of St Michael's Mount.• Couldn't you place the bends on mundane stretches of the road and leave the spectacular views cleared for observation and enjoyment?• A diver is reputedly more susceptible to the bends the colder the water is. 