A phenomenon frequently experienced by amputees in which sensations, often painful, appear to originate in the amputated extremity.
A condition in which someone seems to feel sensations in a limb which has been amputated.
The sensation that an arm or leg, or part of an arm or leg, is still attached to the body after it has been amputated. Pain may seem to come from the amputated part. This may arise because of stimulation of the amputation stump, which contains severed nerves that formerly carried messages from the removed portion.
Following the amputation of a limb, it is usual for the patient to experience sensations as if the limb were still present. This condition is referred to as a phantom limb. In most patients the sensation passes off in time.
The feeling that a removed limb is still attached. Many who undergo amputation feel this sensation, with some believing they can move the absent limb. Some experience severe pain in the phantom limb. This pain often seems to have psychological roots and is frequently accompanied by other mental health issues. Over time, the prominence of the phantom sensation typically diminishes for the patient.