Magazine 2026/3: Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine.

Abstract

Dear Readers, Welcome to this year's third issue of the International Maritime Health Magazine. Every medical specialty has a history, but not every history is preserved. Hyperbaric medicine in Latin America did not emerge from a single institution or a single pioneering individual. Rather, it evolved through diverse national experiences that were shaped by geography, maritime traditions, military and civilian medicine, engineering, scientific curiosity, and the dedication of countless, often silent, professionals. The articles in this issue offer more than historical accounts of individual countries; together, they reveal the collective story of a specialty that developed along many different paths while pursuing a common goal: the care and well-being of patients exposed to exceptional conditions of pressure and oxygen. This month's issue of our Journal brings a strong contemporary focus on diving and hyperbaric medicine. Complementing these historical perspectives, our scientific section presents recent contributions addressing decompression strategies in technical diving, risk factors for decompression sickness among commercial divers, and the physiological and behavioral challenges of extreme cold-water diving.