I am reading the story of Felix Gretarsson who had a double arm transplant. 9 months later he seems to be able to do basic movements with his arms.
How does the actual process of connecting a dead persons limbs to a new person actually work in terms of getting them to work on a new body?
In: 1
Almost all humans have their nerves in roughly the same places, so when transplanting a limb you can more-or-less line up the bigger nerves and sew the transplant nerves to their corresponding host nerves. They process involves literally lining up little white fibers and sewing them together.
The nervous system is branched, so most of the sense and movement in your arm ultimately passes through a small number of large nerves connecting your arm to your torso.
Over time, some or all of the nerves will heal together, the old nerves connecting with the new. It’ll take more time for the brain to learn how to properly use the new nerves, but learning is basically what brains are best at.
Latest Answers