Late one evening in July of 1797, a musket ball was fired through the air.
Europe was ablaze with the French Revolutionary Wars, and the British Royal Navy was engaged in a daring raid on the Spanish island of Tenerife. Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson led the charge.
As Nelson guided his men through the darkness, that fateful musket ball found its mark.
It struck the Admiral’s right arm, shattering bone. His men quickly rowed him back to the main ship, where his arm was surgically amputated.
In the months that followed, Nelson began to experience something bizarre.
He could still feel the arm that was no longer there.
These feelings were so vivid that he swore he could feel his nonexistent fingernails digging into his nonexistent palm.
These ghostly feelings convinced Nelson he’d stumbled upon something profound.
If a missing arm can live on after it’s gone, he declared, surely a missing whole body can, too! For Nelson, this wasn’t just a medical oddity — it was proof of life after death.
At the time, Nelson had no idea how his experience would influence the study of the fascinating but awful phenomenon we now call phantom limb pain.
So, what exactly is going on here? How can losing a body part lead to feeling pain in a limb that’s no longer there?
To find out, let’s ask three key questions:
* What exactly is phantom limb pain?
* What are some early hypotheses about phantom limb pain? and,
* What are the latest theories?
