A paper cut occurs when a piece of parchment or similar material slices the skin.
Although a loose paper sheet is usually too soft to cut, it can be very thin (sometimes as thin as a razor), being then able to exert high levels of pressure, enough to cut the skin.
Paper cuts are most often caused by paper sheets that are strongly fastened together (such as brand new paper out of a ream), because one single paper sheet might be dislocated from the rest. Thus all the other sheets are holding this dislocated sheet in position, and the very small part held away from the rest can be stiff enough to act as a razor.
Paper cuts can cause surprisingly acute pain since they usually stimulate a large amount of skin surface pain receptors (nociceptors) in a very small area of the skin. Because the shallow cut does not bleed very much, the pain receptors are left open to the air, ensuring continued pain. This is exacerbated by irritation caused by the fibers in the paper itself.
Additionally, most paper cuts occur in the fingers, which have a greater concentration of sensory receptors than the rest of the body.
Paper cuts, though named from paper, can also be caused by other thin, stiff materials, such as aluminium foil.
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