How much current can paralyze the muscles and nerves through which it flows?

How much current can paralyze the muscles and nerves through which it flows?

• A. 5 to 10mA
• B. 10 to 14mA
• C. 15 to 19mA
• D. 20 to 25mA

Answer: (C)

When current passes through the body, its effects depend on how large that current is. At higher currents, the nerves and muscles along the path of the current are driven to respond in a way that can immobilize the limb. About in the mid-teens of milliamperes, the muscles can seize up enough that you can’t release what you’re holding, and the nerves that control those muscles are effectively paralyzed for a moment. This is a clinically important threshold because it sits between the sensation/let-go range and the more dangerous levels that impair breathing or heartbeat. So a current in the range of roughly 15 to 19 milliamperes flowing through the body is the level at which muscular and nerve paralysis becomes prominent, which is why that range is identified as the correct answer.

When current passes through the body, its effects depend on how large that current is. At higher currents, the nerves and muscles along the path of the current are driven to respond in a way that can immobilize the limb. About in the mid-teens of milliamperes, the muscles can seize up enough that you can’t release what you’re holding, and the nerves that control those muscles are effectively paralyzed for a moment. This is a clinically important threshold because it sits between the sensation/let-go range and the more dangerous levels that impair breathing or heartbeat. So a current in the range of roughly 15 to 19 milliamperes flowing through the body is the level at which muscular and nerve paralysis becomes prominent, which is why that range is identified as the correct answer.