A paper cut occurs when a piece of paper or other thin, sharp material slices a person's skin, often the upper part of the finger, and often the index finger. Notably, "paper" cuts can also be caused by other thin, stiff, and abrasive materials other than just paper. Paper cuts can be highly painful, even though they may bleed very little, if at all.
A small paper cut on the index finger
Although a loose sheet of paper is usually too soft to cut, it can be very thin (sometimes as thin as a razor edge), thus being able to exert high levels of pressure, enough to cause a cut. Paper cuts are most often caused by paper sheets that are strongly fastened together (such as brand new sheet of paper out of a ream), because one single sheet might be dislocated from the rest. Thus all the other sheets are holding this dislocated sheet in position, making it stiff enough to act as a razor.
Paper cuts can be painful as they can stimulate a large number of skin surface nociceptors (pain receptors) in a very small area of the skin. Because the shallow cut does not bleed as much, the pain receptors are left open to the air, causing continued pain. This is exacerbated by irritation caused by the fibers in the paper itself, which may be coated in chemicals such as bleach. Additionally, most paper cuts occur in the fingers, which have a greater concentration of sensory receptors than the rest of the body.
External linksEdit
A Moment of Science: Paper Cuts 2004-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
Why are paper cuts so painful in relation to their size and appearance?
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paper, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february, 2010. For other uses see Paper cut disambiguation This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Paper cut news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message A paper cut occurs when a piece of paper or other thin sharp material slices a person s skin often the upper part of the finger and often the index finger Notably paper cuts can also be caused by other thin stiff and abrasive materials other than just paper Paper cuts can be highly painful even though they may bleed very little if at all A small paper cut on the index fingerAlthough a loose sheet of paper is usually too soft to cut it can be very thin sometimes as thin as a razor edge thus being able to exert high levels of pressure enough to cause a cut Paper cuts are most often caused by paper sheets that are strongly fastened together such as brand new sheet of paper out of a ream because one single sheet might be dislocated from the rest Thus all the other sheets are holding this dislocated sheet in position making it stiff enough to act as a razor Paper cuts can be painful as they can stimulate a large number of skin surface nociceptors pain receptors in a very small area of the skin Because the shallow cut does not bleed as much the pain receptors are left open to the air causing continued pain This is exacerbated by irritation caused by the fibers in the paper itself which may be coated in chemicals such as bleach Additionally most paper cuts occur in the fingers which have a greater concentration of sensory receptors than the rest of the body External links EditA Moment of Science Paper Cuts Archived 2004 10 14 at the Wayback Machine Why are paper cuts so painful in relation to their size and appearance nbsp This dermatology article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paper cut amp oldid 1156303362, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
