Chapter 10: Definitions

Question 1

The level of a stimulus. That results in the sensation of pain.

Answer 1

Pain threshold

Question 2

Persistent or recurring pain that can be difficult to treat. Includes pain that last 3-6 months or pain that lasts longer than 1 month after an acute injury.

Answer 2

Chronic pain

Question 3

The most well described theory of pain transmission and pain relief. It uses the gate model to explain how impulses from damaged tissues are sensed in the brain.

Answer 3

Gate theory

Question 4

The amount of pain a patient can endure without it interfering with normal function.

Answer 4

Pain tolerance

Question 5

Pain that is sudden in onset, usually subsides when treated, and typically occurs over less than a 6-week period of time.

Answer 5

Acute pain

Question 6

The signs and symptoms associated with abstinence from or withdrawal of an opioid analgesic when the body becomes physically depended on the substance.

Answer 6

Opioid withdrawal

Question 7

Describes patients who are receiving opioid analgesics for the first time and who therefore are not accustomed to their effects.

Answer 7

Opioid naive

Question 8

The opposite of opioid naive: describes patients who have been receiving opioid analgesics for a period of time (1wk or longer).

Answer 8

Opioid tolerant

Question 9

Normal physiologic condition that results from long-term use in which larger doses of opioids are required to maintain the same level of analgesia or discontinuation results in withdrawal symptoms.

Answer 9

Opioid tolerance

Question 10

Synthetic drugs that bind to opiate receptors to relieve pain.

Answer 10

Opioid analgesics

Question 11

What is an analgesic?

Answer 11

Medication to treat pain.

Question 12

Sensory process in which nervous system detects harmful or potentially harmful stimuli, leading to the perception of pain.

Answer 12

Nociception