Ivan had his arm removed at the elbow and is now experiencing phantom pains. His brain is registering painful sensations that feel like his hand is cramping and that he is clenching his fist, despite it not being there. Which part of the spine is receiving erroneous pain signals from his upper arm?

Question

Biology

Desiree Curtis

18 May, 23:04

Ivan had his arm removed at the elbow and is now experiencing phantom pains. His brain is registering painful sensations that feel like his hand is cramping and that he is clenching his fist, despite it not being there. Which part of the spine is receiving erroneous pain signals from his upper arm?

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Answers (1)

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Aryana Burns · Answer 1

Ivan is experiencing phantom pains, which can be defined as the pain sensations that seem to be related to the part of the body which is no longer a part of the person's body. The cervical part of the spine (C1 to C8) receives these phantom pain signals from the amputated part of Ivan's arm. The cervical part of the spine is associated with controlling the back part of the head, arm, neck, hands, shoulders, and diaphragm.

Hence, the answer is 'cervical'.