- acute pain
- pain that is sudden in onset and is expected to last less than 1 month
- addiction
- a persistent, compulsive dependence on a substance or behavior despite known harm
- antipyretics
- medications used to treat fever
- chronic pain
- pain persisting longer than 3 months
- conduction
- the process of converting chemical signals into electrical signals to be carried by nerves
- cyclooxygenase
- an enzyme responsible for the production of several inflammatory cytokines, including prostaglandins
- cytochrome P450 2D6
- a family of oxidative enzymes responsible for metabolizing many different drugs
- cytokines
- proteins that regulate inflammation in immune responses
- hepatotoxicity
- injury to the liver caused by many factors, such as a drug, environmental toxins, or radioactive exposure
- modulation
- the process of enhancing or inhibiting a painful signal before it reaches the brain
- neuropathic pain
- pain that originates in the peripheral or central nervous system
- nociception
- the processing of noxious stimuli by both the peripheral and central nervous system
- nociceptive pain
- pain that occurs because of tissue injury
- nociceptors
- specialized nerves that respond to painful stimuli
- nonopioid analgesic
- any analgesic that does not activate the opioid receptors to relieve pain
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- a classification of drugs that reduce inflammation by inhibiting the enzyme cyclooxygenase
- opioid agonists
- drugs that activate opioid receptors
- opioid use disorder
- a persistent, compulsive dependence on opioids
- pain
- an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage
- pain threshold
- the point at which a stimulus is perceived as painful
- perception
- the point at which the brain receives a painful signal
- referred pain
- deep visceral pain that causes pain elsewhere in the body (e.g., pancreatic injury that causes back pain, myocardial infarction that causes jaw and shoulder pain)
- Reye’s syndrome
- a disorder characterized by liver and brain toxicity culminating in life-threatening neurologic symptoms, seen most often in the setting of aspirin therapy in children with a viral illness
- substance P
- a neurotransmitter that enhances pain perception
- tolerance
- physiologic adaptation to the effect of a drug after repeated exposure
- transduction
- the initial activation of nociceptors
- transmission
- the process of carrying a painful signal from the peripheral nervous system to the brain
- withdrawal
- physiologic effects that occur after discontinuation of a drug that has been used for a prolonged period