phantom limb
Sign in to saveAlso known as ghost limb
perception of painful and nonpainful phantom sensations that occur following the complete or partial loss of a limb
Key facts
- Specialty
- Neurology
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
3,407 papers- Phantom-limb pain: characteristics, causes, and treatment.The Lancet. Neurology · 2002
- Phantom limb pain: A literature review.Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua chuang shang za zhi · 2018
- Phantom Limb Pain Management.The Journal of hand surgery · 2025
- Phantom limb syndrome: from pathogenesis to treatment. A narrative review.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024
- Brain (re)organisation following amputation: Implications for phantom limb pain.NeuroImage · 2020
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Phantom limbs
via Wikidata · CC0
~18 min read
Article
Phantom limb refers to brain's perception of pain in a limb that has been surgically amputated and is one of the most common sequelae of limb loss, with prevalence estimates ranging from 50% to 80% of all individuals who undergo amputation. Phantom limb can also present itself in two ways: phantom limb pain (PLP) or phantom limb sensations. Phantom limb pain is a painful or unpleasant sensation experienced where the amputated limb was. Phantom sensations are any other, nonpainful sensations perceived in the amputated or missing limb area.
Signs and symptoms