Pain

Question 1

What are the dimensions of pain?

Answer 1

• Sensory
• Negative emotions
• Social
• Environmental

Question 2

What mechanisms are involved in pain perception?

Answer 2

the peripheral and central mechanisms

Question 3

Is pain an inactive process?

Answer 3

NO, its active

Question 4

How is the pain experienced? (steps of process)

Answer 4

1. Transmission of the signal (to brain nociceptors)
2. Perception of an unpleasant experience
3. Behavioral or cognitive response to pain

Question 5

What are nociceptors?

Answer 5

terminal endings of primary afferent fibres

Question 6

What are two main types of nociceptor?

Answer 6

1. Myelinated A-delta fibers

2. Non-myelinated C-fibres

Question 7

Where do nociceptors synapse?

Answer 7

at the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (both types)

Question 8

What are the four processes in the pain pathway?

Answer 8

1. Transduction
2. Transmission
3. Modulation
4. Perception

Question 9

What happened during the transduction phase of the pain pathway?

Answer 9

noxious stimuli translated into electrical activity at the sensory nerve endings

Question 10

What happened during the Transmission phase of the pain pathway?

Answer 10

propagation of impulses in the nervous system

Question 11

What happened during the Modulation phase of the pain pathway?

Answer 11

amplification or suppression of nerve signals in the spinal cord

Question 12

What happened during the Perception phase of the pain pathway?

Answer 12

Integration, processing and recognition of nerve signals in the brain

Question 13

What are two types of pain?

Answer 13

Acute and chronic

Question 14

How do we recognize pain?

Answer 14

Subjectively and Objectively

Question 15

What is involved in the subjective recognition of pain?

Answer 15

• appearance
• posture/gait
• demeanour

Question 16

What is involved in the objective recognition of pain?

Answer 16

• activity
• food and water intake
• respiratory and heart rate
• blood pressure

Question 17

What are some postures that indicate pain in horses?

Answer 17

• standing with head down
• standing on 3 legs
• rolling on ground
• recumbency in severe pain
• tucked abdomen
• arched back
• abnormal position of hooves and legs
• drooped ears

Question 18

What are some temperaments that indicate pain in horses?

Answer 18

• aggressive
• kicking
• striking
• biting
• not cooperative
• fighting
• defeated
• docile
• escaping

Question 19

What are some vocalizations that indicate pain in horses?

Answer 19

• quiet
• grunting
• moaning

Question 20

What are some types of locomotion that indicate pain in horses?

Answer 20

• lameness
• reduced speed
• abnormal gait
• non-weight bearing
• reluctance to move
• walks on toes or hocks

Question 21

What are some other indicators of pain in horses?

Answer 21

• self trauma
• significant reduction in performance
• dull eyes

Question 22

What are some limitations of traditional pain assessment?

Answer 22

• little evidence of how these relate to pain intensity
• requires detailed species knowledge
• requires a baseline for species/individual
• observers may vary in their interpretation

Question 23

What are the underlying principles of behavioral assessments?

Answer 23

• pain causes certain behaviors to occur more or less frequently
• analgesics should then reduce those behaviors that increase (if pain specific) and increase those that decrease (eg: activity)