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Afferent fibers
Meaning toward the center, referring to nerves that carry nerve impulses toward the central nervous system.
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Analgesic
Relief from pain
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Bradykinin
Chemical mediator released during inflammation causing vasodilation.
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Cordotomy
A surgical procedure that disables selected pain-conducting tracts in the spinal cord, in order to achieve loss of pain and temperature perception.
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Dermatome
Area of the skin from where nerve impulses are conducted.
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Efferent
Away from center, referring to nerve impulses that are conducted from the CNS to the muscles.
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Endogenous
Substances are those that originate from within an organism, tissue, or cell.
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Histamine
Chemical released from mast cells and basophils during immune reactions, causes vasodilation and bronchoconstriction.
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Intractable
Resistant to treatment, pain that cannot be relieved by drugs.
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Ischemia
Decreased blood supply to an organ or tissue.
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Neurotransmitter
Neurotransmitters are endogenous chemicals that transmit signals from a neuron to a target cell across a synapse.
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Nociceptors
Receptors for pain stimuli.
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Opiods
Opiate-like chemicals that are released to block pain signals to the brain.
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Parenterrally
Drugs administered by injection.
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Prostaglandin
A group of chemical substances in the body that can exert a variety of effects, such as vasodilation, muscle contraction, and inflammation.
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Reticular Activating System (RAS)
Formation in the pons and medulla that influences the brain's awareness of the incoming pain stimuli.
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Reticular formation
Region in the brainstem that is involved in multiple tasks such as regulating the sleep-wake cycle and filtering incoming stimuli to discriminate irrelevant background stimuli.
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Rhizotomy
A neurosurgical procedure that selectively destroys problematic nerve roots in the spinal cord.
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Sedative
A substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement.
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Substance P
A substance that functions as a neurotransmitter and as a neuromodulator.
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Tachycardia
High heart rate
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