If you’re like me, you’ve probably smashed your elbow into something and claimed to have hit your ‘funny bone’. 

There are 2 things not true about the funny bone…

First, hitting it is not funny at all….it hurts like mad. 

Second, there really is no “funny bone”. 

Although we may hit part of the bone, what actually hurts is the nerve that runs near the elbow.

That nerve is called the “ulnar nerve” and it is the largest ‘unprotected’ nerve in the body (meaning: it is partly exposed and not protected by muscle or bone).  This nerve is connected to the little finger and part of the ring-finger. 

When we hit this nerve, we feel something a bit different than the normal pain we might feel if someone pinches us or if we stub our toe on the bed post.  Hitting the ulnar nerve causes a peculiar ‘tingly’ or ‘prickly’ feeling that can run all the way down into the hand.

Perhaps it is from this “funny” feeling that this so-called “bone” got its name.  

 Source:  KidsHealth | wikipedia

Tags: elbow, funny bone, ulnar nerve, what is the funny bone, why we call it the funny bone

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 13:21 and is filed under General Health, Physical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.