Spinothalamic System Flashcards
What sensations do the spinothalamic system provide a pathway for?
Pathway for sensory modalities of pain, temperature, non-discriminative touch and pressure
What recognition does the spinothalamic system permit?
Recognition of the source, severity and quality of painful and thermal stimuli and provides for appropriate emotional/autonomic responses to such stimuli
How does the spinothalamic system protect an individual in regards to pain and temperature?
Sensations of pain and temperature serve to protect an individual becuase they warm us of stimulit that can cause injury. Pain and temperature are therefore refered to as nociceptive senses
What kind of nerve endings are nociceptors in the spinothalamic tract?
Unencapsulated free nerve endings that monitor painful mechanical or thermal stimuli, or pain producing chemicals released from damaged cells
What fibers in the spinothalamic tract are associated with peripheral nociceptive nerve fibers ?
Group A -delta fibers (type III)
Group C fibers (type IV)
What type of nerve endings are temperature receptors in the spinothalamic tract?
Unencapsulated free nerve endings
What do temperature receptors in the spinothalamic tract monitor?
Receptors that monitor cool receptors and ones that monitor warmth
What fibers are associated with thermal receptors in the spinothalamic tract?
Group A -delta fibers (type III)
Group C fibers (type IV)
What type of nerve endings in the spinothalamic tract are for crude touch
Unencapsulated nerve endings (peritrichial, Merkel), some encapsulated endings and free nerve endings.
What fiber types in the spinothalamic tract are associated with crude touch receptors ?
Group A beta fibers
Group A delta fibers
Group C fibers
What do Ruffini endings and pacinian corpuscles monitor?
Monitor pressure on the skin and are supplied by Group A beta fibers
What is a reflex (motor) response?
A flexor response from a noxious stimulus
What is fast pain also known as?
First pain, sharp pain or discriminate pain
What is fast pain?
Fast, sharp, precisely, localized pain that has good recognition of pain intensity
What is slow pain also known as?
Second, dull pain or non-discriminative pain
What is slow pain
Dull pain, aching, poorly localized or diffused, burning and lasts longer and associated with appropriate autonomic and emotional response to the pain
What does the perception of pain in two stages suggest?
There is more than one ascending pathway for pain and differences in the peripheral and central parts of the pain pathway provides for two stages of pain
Can pain perception be modified?
Yes, the perception of pain can be modified by the activity of other pathways in the CNS; including other sensory pathways and descending fibers from the brain