82
Pruney fingers in water aren't caused by skin absorbing water—it's an active nervous system reflex (www.oddlyclear.com)
submitted 8 hours ago by to c/science@lemmy.world
29 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Common myth: skin wrinkles in water because of osmosis/swelling.

Reality: it is an active, involuntary vasomotor response. The nervous system constricts blood vessels under the skin to form ridges—acting like tire treads to channel away water and improve grip on wet objects. Patients with severed median nerves don't wrinkle at all.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [S] 6 points 8 hours ago

Haha, unfortunately it's strictly controlled by the autonomic nervous system (same system as goosebumps and pupil dilation), so voluntary control is locked out. Would make a wild party trick though!

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent