Obdormition (; from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''obdormire'' "to fall asleep") is a medical term describing temporary numbness in a limb, often caused by constant pressure on

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...

s or lack of movement. This is colloquially referred to as the limb "going to sleep" and is usually followed by

paresthesia Paresthesia is a sensation of the skin that may feel like numbness (''hypoesthesia''), tingling, pricking, chilling, or burning. It can be temporary or Chronic condition, chronic and has many possible underlying causes. Paresthesia is usually p ...

, colloquially called "pins and needles".

References

Symptoms and signs: Nervous and musculoskeletal systems {{symptom-stub he:אובדורמישן