Question

Months after the accident, your amputee uncle's phantom limb pain subsides. One afternoon he is sleeping and you see a fly walk across his upper lip. He wakes up and tells you he just had the funniest feeling. It was as if someone was touching his missing index finger. You decide to experiment with your uncle and you blindfold him. As you touch his cheek he tells you that you are touching his cheek and his missing thumb! As you move around his face you map out his fingers and forearm on his face. Hypothesize how this could be possible.

Answer 1

Ans

A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached. Approximately 80 to 100% of individuals with an amputation experience phantom sensations in their amputated limb.These sensations are relatively common in amputees and usually resolve within two to three years without treatment.
Nerves in parts of the spinal cord and brain “rewire” when signals from the missing arm or leg. As a result, they send pain signals, when the signals are lost due to amputation.This could happen due to some threat .