A Wartenberg wheel, also called a Wartenberg pinwheel or Wartenberg neurowheel, is a medical device for neurological use. It was originally designed by Robert Wartenberg to test nerve reactions (sensitivity) as it rolled systematically across the skin. A Wartenberg wheel is generally made of stainless steel with a handle of approximately seven inches in length. The wheel, which has evenly-spaced radiating sharp pins, rotates as it is rolled across the flesh. A disposable plastic version is available. Because of hygienic concerns, these devices are hardly used any more.
The Wartenberg wheel is also used as a BDSM or sensation sex toy.
Famous quotes containing the word wheel:
“Even an attorney of moderate talent can postpone doomsday year after year, for the system of appeals that pervades American jurisprudence amounts to a legalistic wheel of fortune, a game of chance, somewhat fixed in the favor of the criminal, that the participants play interminably.”
—Truman Capote (1924–1984)