pain & analgesic drugs Flashcards
what is pain
a subjective unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage
what is nociception
detection of noxious stimuli or stimuli that are capable of damaging tissue
4 processes in pain perception
1) transduction
2) transmission
3) perception
4) modulation
what is transduction
detection of physical stimuli into nerve input
- pain nerve endings
what is transmission
action potential travels along nerves to CNS
what is perception
the feeling/awareness of sensations in periphery
- happens in the cortex
what is modulation
CNS release inhibitors which decrease info going to brain
- less perception of pain
what is acute pain
- sudden onset
- subsides with treatment
- nociceptive stimulus causes
- sharp or dull (different receptors)
what is chronic pain
- long lasting (>6 weeks)
- persistent or recurring
- difficult to treat
- many different causes (not always from stimulus)
what is allodynia
pain from stimuli that’s not normally painful
what is hyperalgesia
heightened pain detection
what is causalgia
burning sensations
what is neuropathic pain
from damaged nerve fibers
somatic pain
superficial (skin, mucosal membranes, joints, bones)
visceral pain
vascular, organ, deep, respiratory
referred pain
occurs away from area of real cause
- heart attack felt in left arm
cancer pain
chronic, breakthrough
phantom pain
pain felt after amputation
success of analgesic drugs depends on type of pain
acute > chronic
two types of medication for pain
1) analgesic
2) anesthetic
analgesic medication
selectively blocks sensation of pain without blocking other symptoms or loss of consciousness
- not treating cause of pain