Essay Sannus Story - 979 Words

A. Leprosy, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, is leading cause of peripheral neuropathy worldwide; although it is treatable, the damage caused by the disease is irreversible. In Sannu’s case, why is there both sensory loss and muscle weakness? From the repeated injuries Sannu is having repeated nerve damage. When someone has Leprosy and it is untreated they can lose sensation in that extremity due to the body’s defense mechanism. This will cause loss of feeling in the skin and weakens muscle. B. Leprosy can affect the skin and Schwann cells of peripheral nerves. Which events of sensation processing are most likely not functioning properly in Sannu’s leprosy? Generation of nerve impulses is probably not working properly.†¦show more content†¦Slow pain because it is the type of pain referred to as chronic, burning, or throbbing pain. G. What type of peripheral receptors would be activated in a normal, intact limb to produce the sensations Sannu is experiencing in his â€Å"phantom limb†? Tactile receptors- free nerve endings in the skin are picking up the itching and burning Nociceptors- Free nerve endings that are picking up on the pain. H. Sannu has experienced two devastating events: loss of my elination of peripheral nerves and below-the-knee amputation of a leg. Sannu has been experiencing sensations in a limb that had no sensation prior to the amputation. How might this be possible? It is possible because even though the limb is not there anymore the nerve endings at the site of amputation continue to send pain signals to the brain and make the brain believe the limb is still there. I. Since Sannu has lost his leg, and since sensory input to the somatosensory cortex of the brain will be nonexistent, what might happen to the representation of his amputation leg on the somatosensory map? The representation of the leg on the map will disappear because the limb is no longer there. At the beginning after amputation the nerve endings in the site might still send signals but after that the brain will stop getting signals from a region that is not there. J. Could the loss of input from proprioceptors in the amputated leg affect Sannu’s sense of