Have you ever wondered what will happen if a finger got caught into a ceiling fan and it got cut off? Or even sticking your finger out into the fan intentionally and watching it fly off? Perhaps, even having your arm or leg severed and have it re-attached? Of course, there are artificial limbs out there, but naturally everyone prefers the real thing over the fake one.
Our cells divide and get replaced everyday through mitosis. We know that our hair and nails regrow after awhile when we cut it. We also know that our skin, when bruised or burned, gradually heals, although a scar will be left behind. But more importantly, every sane person knows that a severed body part won't regenerate and grow back. That's just crazy! Lizards, on the other hand, can grow their tail back even if you cut it off a million times! Although that's the case, a severed body limb can be re-attached and the nerves and tissues in it will regenerate itself.
Our body limbs can be re-attached. (click me!) Of course, there are a few conditions for it to be re-attached and used it again.
- A severed body part should be put in a sealed plastic bag with ice
- It must be reattached from within 6 to 12 hours
- The cleaner the cut, the easier the operation
Other limbs, such as arm, elbow, or legs, are not as resilient as the finger but they may also be reattached. But careful, they deteriorate quickly so go see a doctor as soon as a limb falls off your body! As soon as the operation is finished, you could use your severed body part after a few months when the nerves and vessels finish their regeneration process.
There are other body parts that can also be reattached, like ears which tend to be more trickier, and the men's genital (click me! seriously, read first paragraph). So never ever worry again when your limb gets cut off, because a surgery will fix everything!
Also for those who are unfortunate and unable to preserve their severed limbs scientists have been making major improvements in the world of prosthetic limbs and in particular arms. http://www.ted.com/talks/todd_kuiken_a_prosthetic_arm_that_feels.html
ReplyDeleteHere is a link of a speech by Todd Kuiken in which he discusses the science behind a prosthetic arm that feels. To sum up what he did, he took the nerve cells that would have been used to send signals through the severed arm and surgically moved them to the chest. Therefore these arms move through muscle contractions in the chest. Also they can feel! Fascinating isn't it?!
Interesting.. It's a bit tempting to watch my finger get cut off by a fan and watch it fly across the room. :)
ReplyDelete@USafdar now that is really interesting! You can feel your hand even though its already severed, and like he said it can open up for a future sense of touch to the prostetic arm.
ReplyDelete@a.ung yeahh, I tried doing it earlier. Unfortunately the power went out (lol)and as my finger was about to get cut off, the fan stopped :P
I think it is interesting how you can feel pain in a limb that has been severed. Several scientists have been making efforts to study this phantom limb pain. Just by using a mirror and placing, for ex. one's hand (in which the other hand was severed), there would be an illusion to your brain that the missing hand was there, thus having relief from the pain.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. How often do you think the body could handle the reattachment of limbs? You mentioned gamblers and their finger being their ante, how much do you think the body is able to handle, and how often can it happen?
ReplyDeleteI think there is a limit to how much you can actually reattach your limbs. The conditions are interesting and your post was extremely appealing.
The fact that doctors are able to just reattach a limb to you without being surprised explains how advanced our knowledge has become until this day.
I think this is a good example of how, through technology, we are taking the steering wheel away from Darwin. It would be interesting to see where this leads us on our evolutionary path.
ReplyDelete@Kristianna how does evolution apply to reattaching our limbs?
ReplyDelete@USafdar maybe not so much as natural selection but through the evolution of technology. Compared to cave man times, humans back then were either a burden or waited for death when they lost their limps.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a nice little fact, the first successful reattachment was in 1962 when a 12 year old boy tried to hop a freight train and lost his right arm (http://listverse.com/2009/07/16/10-fascinating-reattachment-surgeries/).
If we could make ourselves cyborgs also and somehow use technology to make us "superhumans" that could also be how we are controlling technology with prosthetics...just like in I, robot...I think irobot might be apples next mission.
ReplyDeleteCan you expand on what you said Chelsea
ReplyDeleteI certainly could but now that I'm really thinking about it, cave men most definitely wouldn't be able to get their limbs back on even if they were able. This is because the creatures back then had longer claws and sharper teeth, causing a nasty or unclean cut. The condition of the limb would then be unacceptable to reattachment as listed in the article above.
ReplyDelete...i'd like to know what kind of drunk idiots would bet their own fingers...
ReplyDeleteThis guy lost his thumb and had it replaced with his big toe!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.likecool.com/Man_Loses_Thumb_Has_Replaced_With_Big_Toe--News--Gear.html