Subject:  DID YOU KNOW??? |
Author:
 Stacy
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Date Posted: 19:49:50 05/25/06 Thu
Just an interesting tidbit I came across.
GOOSE BUMPS
Goose bumps (AE), also called goose pimples, goose flesh (BE), chicken skin (Hawaiian Pidgin), or cutis anserina, are the bumps on a person's skin at the base of body hairs which involuntarily develop when a person is cold or experiences strong emotions like fear.
The reflex of producing goose pimples is known as horripilation, piloerection, or the pilomotor reflex. It occurs not only in humans but also in many other mammals; a prominent example are porcupines which raise their quills when threatened.
Goose bumps are created when tiny muscles at the base of each hair, known as arrectores pilorum, contract and pull the hair erect. The reflex is started by the sympathetic nervous system, which is in general responsible for many fight-or-flight responses.
Goose bumps are often a response to cold: in animals covered with fur or hair, the erect hairs trap air to create a layer of insulation. In humans, it can even extend to piloerection (a response to cold or fear ) as a reaction to hearing nails scratch on a chalkboard or listening to awe-inspiring music.
In humans, goose bumps are strongest on the forearms, but also occur on the legs, back, and other areas of the skin that have hair. In some people, they even occur in the face or on the head.
Goose bumps can only occur in mammals, since other animals do not have hair. The term "goose bumps" is therefore misleading: the bumps on the skin of a plucked goose technically do not qualify as piloerection. Birds do however have a similar reflex of raising their feathers in order to keep warm.
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