Recent research reveals that the wrinkling of fingers and toes during prolonged exposure to water is due to blood vessel contraction, governed by the autonomic nervous system, not by swelling from water absorption. Guy German, a biomedical engineering professor, conducted experiments showing consistent wrinkle patterns in soaked fingers. It is now understood that when skin is submerged, sweat ducts open, reducing salt levels and triggering a nervous system response that constricts blood vessels, leading to the characteristic wrinkles. This phenomenon has been compared to the shrinkage of a grape into a raisin.
'Often people assume that these winkles form because skin absorbs water, which makes it swell up and buckle,' he told The Conversation. 'To be honest, I did too for a long time.'
'This contraction of your blood vessels is also what causes the skin to wrinkle after a lengthy swim,' Dr German said.
'When your hands and feet come into contact with water for more than a few minutes, the sweat ducts in your skin open, allowing water to flow into the skin tissue.'
'It's like how a dried-out grape becomes a wrinkled raisin - it's lost more volume than surface area.'
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