Descriptions of the phantom limbs in literature

Phantom is a false sensation, an illusion of the presence of a lost body part. A distinction is made between phantom sensations (painless phantom), phantom pain and amputation pain. Soon after amputation, up to 98% of patients experience sensations in the lost body part: they feel warmth or cold, itching, pressure and even feel position of the phantom limb in space. Often, such sensations are accompanied by excruciating pain, significantly reducing the quality of patients’ life. Since the beginning of the 16th century, descriptions of phantom pains have been recorded based on the stories of people with amputated limbs or from the retellings of doctors that caused skeptical disbelief in some specialists. The review presents descriptions of phantom limbs in autobiographical and fiction literature and analyzes them.