Something I wonder about...about Coffee Coolatta

Subject:    Something I wonder about...about Coffee Coolatta
From:       Captain Infinity
Newsgroups: alt.fan.tom-servo,alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.religion.kibology,alt.food.coffee
Message-ID: <35323a71.14692013@news-f.std.com>

Just what the heck is "Brain Freeze"?

And why does it cause a sharp pain (not only in my head) but along the back
edge of my left armpit?  I've never met anyone else who gets the pain there
(though I've met many who get it in their throats, and in their sinuses).

** 
Captain Infinity
 ...crossposting to the groups where the experts are



Subject:    Re: Something I wonder about...about Coffee Coolatta
From:       Teg Pipes
Newsgroups: alt.fan.tom-servo,alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.religion.kibology,alt.food.coffee
Message-ID: <xd91zv1bizj.fsf@fruitfly.i-have-a-misconfigured-system-so-shoot-me>

Infinity@world.std.com (Captain Infinity) writes:

> Just what the heck is "Brain Freeze"?
> 
> And why does it cause a sharp pain (not only in my head) but along the back
> edge of my left armpit?  I've never met anyone else who gets the pain there
> (though I've met many who get it in their throats, and in their sinuses).

IHNJH.  


IIRC, it's very much like the "Bends", nitrogen (N2) gas normally
dissolved in plasma forming bubbles in your capillaries.  Lots of
blood gets exposed to cold in the mouth/throat, this decreases the
solubility of N2 gas in plasma and it begins to bubble after that
cold-exposure.  The bubbles get trapped in capillaries distal to
the site of cold-exposure - the forehead, simply due to the way that
blood vessels are organized.  This causes transient PAIN PAIN PAIN;
the bubbles quickly get re-solubilized by the ensuing warmer blood
and it goes away.
                In addition to temperature having an effect on solubility
of gasses in blood, pressure also has an effect.  Deep sea
divers must descend to greater pressure slowly and ascend slowly
so that body temperature can accomodate changes in N2 solubility.

Armpit- you're probably just a freak.  Seriously, the pattern of
blood vessels develops along a semi-stochastic mechanism: the
large arteries and veins are constrained to develop here and here
and there, but the pattern of smaller vessels can develop in any
way it wants, as long as no tissue is left an-oxic (without oxygen.)
Major vessels are made apriori, then, as the embryo grows in size
and volume, any tissue that isn't getting enough oxygen "complains"
(secretes a hormone called VEGF, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor)
and causes new capillaries to be made for it.  (Incidentially, the
in-/ability of solid tumors to do this, to demand that new capillaries
be made to supply it, seems to be one of the most important factors
in determining how big the tumor can get.  If they can't get new
capillaries made to supply them, then the inside of the tumor dies
and its overall size and maturity is restricted.  A researcher in
Joe Bay's graduate dept. is working on using this for cancer therapy.)
Anyway, its possible that your capilary network developed in a
strange way, making some of the blood flow past your mouth/throat
go down your arm.
                It's also possible that this is due to a miswiring
of the sensory neurons in your spinal cord, such that your brain
interprets the pain as coming from both of these places when it's only
coming from one place.  There is a very common, similar miswiring
which causes women with tubal pregnancies to experience *shoulder*
pain.

I can't find a citation for this (well, for the bubbles thing; the
VEGF stuff is making headlines but is not what you were asking about.)
Rose?  Any other MDs in ark?


                                                -Teg
Web site contents are Copyright © Captain Infinity Productions.
All Usenet posts reproduced herein are the copyrighted intellectual property of the poster named in the "From" header.