Goose bumps

As goosebumps (Latin cutis anserina, Medical: piloerection ) refers to the typical image of an upright body hair and small elevations of the skin surface, especially in the arms and legs, similar to the sight of a plucked goose. The cause for the emergence of a goose bumps in humans is not fully understood.

Term

A name for this phenomenon the term goose is also found in English ( goose bumps ), Italian ( pelle d' oca ), Russian ( гусиная кожа ), Polish ( Gęsia Skórka ), Czech ( Husí kůže ), Danish ( gåsehud ) Latvian ( zosāda ) and Hungarian ( libabőr ).

In France, Spain and Switzerland, the phenomenon is referred to as chicken skin. In Graubünden ( Switzerland ), Vorarlberg ( Austria ), the Allgäu up to Chiemgau (southern Bavaria ) is often used the term Henn skin. In the region around Vienna, the term is to Ganselhaut only slightly varied. Some of the creeps is colloquially referred to as chicken costume.

Impact and possible causes

When it is cold ( shivering), anxiety or excitement, there is a controlled by the autonomic nervous system the contraction of the Haarbalgmuskels (Latin arrector pili muscle ), so that the hair follicles rises above the surface of the skin and the hair straightens ( medical term piloerection ). This was used for inclusion of more air between the hairs of man's ancestors, of which the person has " inherited " the reaction. At generally glabrous skin surfaces, such as soles and palms, goose bumps may occur. Regions with even minimal or highly rudimentary hair on the other hand show at corresponding conditions quite this very unique reaction.

Goosebumps occurs when one is touched by a positive moment or an emotional experience, such as a piece of music or a cheering crowd.

Goose bumps may also arise in the context of rigor mortis. Cause is a preserved excitability of Musculi arrectores pilorum.