Spinothalamic System

Question 1

What sensations do the spinothalamic system provide a pathway for?

Answer 1

Pathway for sensory modalities of pain, temperature, non-discriminative touch and pressure

Question 2

What recognition does the spinothalamic system permit?

Answer 2

Recognition of the source, severity and quality of painful and thermal stimuli and provides for appropriate emotional/autonomic responses to such stimuli

Question 3

How does the spinothalamic system protect an individual in regards to pain and temperature?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What kind of nerve endings are nociceptors in the spinothalamic tract?

Answer 4

Unencapsulated free nerve endings that monitor painful mechanical or thermal stimuli, or pain producing chemicals released from damaged cells

Question 5

What fibers in the spinothalamic tract are associated with peripheral nociceptive nerve fibers ?

Answer 5

Group A -delta fibers (type III)

Group C fibers (type IV)

Question 6

What type of nerve endings are temperature receptors in the spinothalamic tract?

Answer 6

Unencapsulated free nerve endings

Question 7

What do temperature receptors in the spinothalamic tract monitor?

Answer 7

Receptors that monitor cool receptors and ones that monitor warmth

Question 8

What fibers are associated with thermal receptors in the spinothalamic tract?

Answer 8

Group A -delta fibers (type III)

Group C fibers (type IV)

Question 9

What type of nerve endings in the spinothalamic tract are for crude touch

Answer 9

Unencapsulated nerve endings (peritrichial, Merkel), some encapsulated endings and free nerve endings.

Question 10

What fiber types in the spinothalamic tract are associated with crude touch receptors ?

Answer 10

Group A beta fibers
Group A delta fibers
Group C fibers

Question 11

What do Ruffini endings and pacinian corpuscles monitor?

Answer 11

Monitor pressure on the skin and are supplied by Group A beta fibers

Question 12

What is a reflex (motor) response?

Answer 12

A flexor response from a noxious stimulus

Question 13

What is fast pain also known as?

Answer 13

First pain, sharp pain or discriminate pain

Question 14

What is fast pain?

Answer 14

Fast, sharp, precisely, localized pain that has good recognition of pain intensity

Question 15

What is slow pain also known as?

Answer 15

Second, dull pain or non-discriminative pain

Question 16

What is slow pain

Answer 16

Dull pain, aching, poorly localized or diffused, burning and lasts longer and associated with appropriate autonomic and emotional response to the pain

Question 17

What does the perception of pain in two stages suggest?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Can pain perception be modified?

Answer 18

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