Chapter 14 - Pain and Temperature Flashcards
Pain Definition
dysfunction of general or specific senses
Pain is a ________ phenomenon
protective
Is pain subjective or objective? Why?
subjective, it is not measurable
The physical, cognitive, and emotional interactions of pain make it very ________
complex
How did McCaffery define pain?
“Whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever they say it does.”
Variations in temperature can signal _________
disease
_______ is a common symptom of dysfunction
fever
What is often the first symptom of infectious or inflammatory conditions?
fever
Specific Pain Theory =
receptors
The specific pain theory says that injury activates specific pain ________ to the brain
receptors
The specific pain theory says that pain intensity is related to…
direct association with tissue injury ie. cutting hand with knife hurts more than finger prick
What is the problem with the specific pain theory?
it doesn’t account for emotional pain
Gate Control Theory =
spinal cord
The gate control pain theory explains _____________ aspects of pain
multidimensional
The gate control pain theory uses the spinal cord as a gate to control transmission to the _____
CNS (brain)
The Neuromatrix Theory =
brain
In the neuromatrix theory, stimuli trigger _______ of nerve impulses, but don’t produce them
patterns
Where are patterns of nerve impulses taken from?
genetic, psychological, or cognitive EXPERIENCES
What is an example of pain being felt without experience?
phantom limb
The afferent pathway brings the pain impulse from the _______ to the _______
epithelial receptors to the CNS
What part of the body interprets pain?
the brain and spinal cord
The efferent pathway brings the pain response from the _______ to the _________
CNS to the response organ (ie. muscle)
Nociception
processing of harmful stimuli through the nervous system
Nociceptors are _____ nerve endings in the ___________ PNS
free; afferent
What is larger: A delta or C fibres?
A Delta
Which of A delta or C fibres are myelinated?
A delta are myelinated, C fibres are not
_______ fibres access the large spinal cord tracts
A Delta
______ fibres access the small spinal cord tracts
C fibres
Which type of fibres produce the initial fast and sharp pain?
A delta
Which type of fibres produce the latter dull and throbbing pain?
C fibres
What is the “activation of nociceptors”?
transduction
What is the “conduction to dorsal horn and up the spinal cord”?
transmission
A transducer is…
a device that converts variations into an electrical signal
What does the sensory discriminative system do?
identify presence, location, and intensity of pain
What part of the brain is involved in sensory discrimination?
somatosensory cortex
What does the motivational-affective system do?
determines avoidance and emotional responses
What parts of the brain are involved in the motivational-affective system?
reticular formation and limbic system
The cognitive-evaluative system is involved with the ________ pain experience
learned
Pain Perception
conscious awareness of pain
The _______ and _______ systems are involved in pain perception
reticular and limbic
Pain Threshold
lowest recognizable intensity of pain
Pain Tolerance
highest intensity of pain a person can endure
**Pain tolerance ________ with repeated exposure
decreases
The concept of perceptual dominance says that intense pain at one location _______ the threshold at another location.
increases
What do pain modulation mechanisms do?
increase or decrease pain transmission
What are two triggers that initiate excitatory neurotransmitters?
tissue injury and chronic inflammation
What do excitatory neurotransmitters do?
reduce nociceptor activation threshold (increase their responsiveness)
Name 4 Examples of Excitatory Neurotransmitters
-substance P
-glutamate
-histamine
-prostaglandins
What do inhibitory neurotransmitters do?
reduce the transmission of a pain signal
Name 5 Examples of Inhibitory Neurotransmitters
-opioids
-GABA
-cannabinoids
-serotonin
-norepinephrine
What does the descending inhibitory pathway do?
releases endorphins to inhibit the pain signal
Endorphins (opiates) are a mixture of _______ and _________
endogenous and morphine