Lecture 12 - Freedom from Health, Disease and Pain Flashcards
What were the traditional indicators of well being
Growth, reproduction
How is increased survival/growth = better wellbeing BUTTT…
Better nutrition, better health care
BUT production is a measure of economic success, not wellbeing
Veterinarians role?
Treat injuries, disease
Reduce disease incidence
Pain control
Advise/educate
Why is defining pain in animals tricky
Animal and human experiences to pain in response to the same stimuli may not be the same
Use human pain as reference
Define pain in animals. Results in…
Aversive sensory experience eliciting protective motor actions
Results in learned avoidance and modified behaviour
What is chronic neuropathic pain
“intractable pain”
Does not respond to treatments
Might just be nerves activating, nothing actually wrong
What is acute pain
immediate stimulation of nociceptors
What is chronic inflammatory pain
Healing persists beyond expected time
Nociception vs pain?
Nociception detects noxious stimulus (no brain required)
Pain is an experience, product of mental processing of noxious stimulus
Pain perception includes nociception, Nociception does not include pain perception
Describe the process of a painful experience
Noxious stimulation of tissues (peripheral mechanisms) lead to unconscious nociceptive processing by spinal cord & brain (central mechanisms)
A ‘reflex’ is what mechanism
Peripheral mechanism
Describe in depth how nociceptors function
Nerves generate electrical signal (action potential), travels along nerve fibres to spinal cord and brain
Sense noxious stimuli (pricking, stretching, heat, cold)
What nociceptors are in the intestines?
Stretch receptors, no pricking/cutting receptors
Peripheral mechanisms are in
Skin, bone, tissues
Allodynia is…
Pain from stimulation not normally painful (e.g. light touch/stroke sunburn)
Hyperalgesia is…
increased pain when same stimulus repeated
To process pain, what must happen?
It must reach the brain
Reflex vs pain sensation
Reflex to noxious stimulus in absence of CNS transmission
Pain sensation requires CNS
What responses are generated through the hypothalamus
Autonomic responses (fight/flight, HPA)
Where does the experience of pain occur
Higher centres in cerebral cortex
How do animals cope with pain
Downregulate severity of pain
Coping mechanisms involving physiological or behavioural changes
Self or stress-induced analgesia
What is breakthrough pain
When the coping mechnism is overpowered temporarily
What are some postural responses to pain
Lying on side, dog-sitting (horses), “praying,” stretching
How do we assess pain through activity (characteristics)
Restlessness, kick, paw, rolling, tail wag, arching back, head turn, licking
Eight ways of assessing pain level
posture, gait, activity, vocalization, mental state, evoked behaviour, facial expressions, analgesics
Characteristics of pain (mental state)
Aware, bright, alert, responsive (BAR) = no pain
Dull, depressed, unresponsive, anxious, timid, aggressive, decrease play
How do behaviours change when an animal is in pain
Wildlife allow to approach
Prey animals don’t watch approach
Palpation, pinch, probe, manipulate
Aggression, vocalize
Assessing rat grimace scale
Orbital tightening, nose/cheek flattening, ear changes, whisker changes
What do physiological changes indicate
Changes in hypothalamo-pituitary-adrnal system
Pain relief options =
opiods, anti-inflam, analgesics, anesthesia
Questions asked when performing elective procedure
Necessary? When? Alternatives? Anesthesia?
How are poor welfare and disease intertwined
Poor welfare can cause disease (immunosuppression) which can cause poor welfare…
Stress definition
Environmental effect on individual that results in adverse consequences and reduced fitness
Responses to stress =
Brain activity, physiological responses, behavioural changes
