The article took note of phantom limb's important role in recent brain research, but it also pointed out that phantom limb had been a staple of folklore for centuries before medical science validated the condition. The story drew on Mitchell's experience during the Civil War at a military hospital for soldiers with nerve injuries. One reason for the enduring fascination of phantom limb is that it is counterintuitive without being preposterous.
Nerve endings remain sensitive.
The missing thing maintains a presence. The phantom-limb phenomenon is perhaps most obviously prevalent in the realm of language. Governmental structures, too, often remain in evidence long after acts of severance. The Scottish officers of the King's African Rifles who advanced Idi Amin through the ranks may think they have by now severed all ties with the former Ugandan dictator, but Scottish ganglia survive in the names of Amin's sons Campbell, Maclaren, and Mackenzie. Every Friday, to our surprise, Carlota was allowed by the nuns to bring a thick meat sandwich to school for lunch, even as the rest of us adhered to the carnal prohibition.