difference between analgesia and anesthesia
What is the difference between analgesia and anesthesia? Anesthesia implies loss of many sensory modalities, leaving the area “insensate.” Analgesia refers specifically to the easing of painful sensation.
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Interesting Facts of Analgesia
Interesting Facts of Analgesia Analgesia is the absence of pain in response to a normally noxious stimulus. Analgesia can be produced peripherally (at the site of tissue damage, receptor, or nerve) or centrally (in the spinal cord or brain). Different analgesic agents may target all or primarily one of these regions.
Allodynia
What is allodynia? Allodynia refers to the state in which an innocuous (e.g., normally nonpainful) stimulus is perceived as painful. It is not normal! It is common in many neuropathic pain conditions, such as postherpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy complex regional pain syndrome, and other peripheral neuropathies. In thermal allodynia, the innocuous warm or cold sensation may be …
Difference between pain threshold and pain tolerance
What is the difference between pain threshold and pain tolerance? Pain threshold refers to the lowest intensity at which a given stimulus (mechanical, thermal) is perceived as painful; it is relatively constant across subjects for a given stimulus. Similarly, barring disease states, mechanical pressure produces pain at approximately the same amount of pressure across subjects. …
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Nociceptor
What is a nociceptor? A nociceptor is a specialized, neurologic receptor that is capable of differentiating between innocuous and noxious stimuli. In humans, nociceptors are the undifferentiated terminals of a-delta and c-fibers, which are the thinnest myelinated and unmyelinated fibers, respectively. A-delta fibers are also called high-threshold mechanoreceptors. They respond primarily to mechanical stimuli of …
Nociception
What is the definition of nociception? Nociception is the activation of a nociceptor by a perception of a potentially tissue-damaging (noxious) stimulus. It is the first step in the pain pathway.
Inferred pathophysiology
What is meant by “inferred pathophysiology”? Even for well-recognized pain syndromes (e.g., migraine headache or painful diabetic neuropathy), we can rarely define with certainty the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying a specific pain syndrome. This hinders our ability to specifically target and treat such mechanisms directly. However, a specific set of symptoms may lead us to believe …