Peter's Physiology 7 - Pain and Thermosensation Flashcards
What is pain?
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, associated with actual tissue damage or described in terms of such damage (although pain may be perceived in the absence of tissue/ organ damage)
What type of pain is a pin prick and visceral distension examples of?
Nociceptive (acute) pain
What type of pain is sunburn and an inflamed wound examples of?
inflammatory (prolonged) pain
What type of pain is IBS, fibromyalgia, arthritis, cancer and AIDs examples of?
Pathological (neurogenic) pain
What are the specific peripheral primary sensory afferent neurones that are normally activated preferentially by intense stimuli (e.g. thermal, mechanical, chemical) that are noxious, or damaging?
Nociceptors
Where are nociceptor cell bodies located?
in the dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia
What type of primary afferent fibres are nociceptors?
A delta and C fibres (NB not all A delta and C fibres are nociceptors)
What type of noxious stimuli do A delta fibres respond to?
What type of pain does this mediate?
Mechanical and thermal stimuli
First/ fast pain
Which of A delta and C fibres are unmyelinated?
C fibres
A delta fibres are thinly myelinated
what type of noxious stimuli do C fibres respond to?
What type of pain does this mediate?
All types of noxious stimuli - polymodal
Second/ slow pain
What is the phrased used to describe the fact the rate of action potential discharge from nociceptors correlates with the intensity of the applied stimulus ?
Frequency coding
What is another name for type I A delta fibres?
High threshold mechanoreceptors
What are type 1 A delta fibres activated by?
Strong mechanical stimuli/ noxious heat (threshold >53 degrees C)
What happens to type I A delta fibres in response to prolonged stimuli?
Sensitisation occurs - threshold for activation by heat or mechanical stimuli falls
What do type II A delta fibres respond to?
Noxious mechanical stimuli and also noxious heat (threshold of 43-47 degrees C), sensitive to capsaicin
Which type of A delta fibres mediate first pain to intense mechanical stimuli?
Type I
Which type of A delta fibres mediate first pain to heat?
Type II
What are the 4 sub-classes of C fibres?
C - MH
C - M
C - H
C - MiHi (silent)
What do C - MH fibres respond to?
Noxious mechanical stimuli Noxious heat (threshold 39 - 51 degrees C)
What type of C fibres are sensitive to capsicain?
C-MH
C-H
C-MiHi
Do C-MH fibres show sensitisation to repeated stimuli?
Yes
What functions does C-MH fibres have?
Contributes to heat pain
Location of stimulus
What type of stimuli do C-M fibres respond to?
Noxious mechanical stimuli
What type of stimuli do C-H fibres respond to?
Noxious heat (threshold 42 - 48 degrees C)
What function does C-H fibres mediate?
Heat hyperalgesia
What does C-H fibres acquire in the context of inflammation?
Sensitivity to mechanical stimuli
Describe the function of C - MiHi fibres?
Normally insensitive to both mechanical and heat stimuli but acquires sensitivity following sensitisation by inflammatory mediators
What is released from the peripheral terminal of nociceptors?
Molecules that influence local tissue environment e.g. substance P causing vasodilation and extravasation of plasma proteins, calcitonin gene related peptide causing vasodilation)
Where are primary afferent cell bodies located (apart from in the trigeminal system)?
In the dorsal root ganglia
What is the name for the 10 layers of grey matter in the spinal cord which are defined by their cellular structure?
Laminae of rexed
Which laminae of rexed do the primary afferent axons terminate in?
I - V
What laminae of Rexed do nociceptive C- and A-delta fibres mostly terminate in?
Superficially in laminae I and II (also V for A-delta fibres