Question | Answer |
addiction: | a behavioral pattern of substance use characterized
by a compulsion to take the substance (drug or alcohol)
primarily to experience its psychic effects |
agonist: | a substance that when combined with the receptor
produces the drug effect or desired effect.
Endorphins and morphine are agonists on the opioid receptors |
algogenic: | causing pain |
antagonist: | a substance that blocks or reverses the effects of the agonist by occupying the receptor site without producing the drug effect |
balanced analgesia: | using more than one form of analgesia concurrently to obtain more pain relief with fewer side effects |
breakthrough pain: | a sudden and temporary increase in
pain occurring in a patient being managed with opioid analgesia |
dependence: | occurs when a patient who has been taking opioids experiences a withdrawal syndrome when the
opioids are discontinued; often occurs with opioid tolerance
and does not indicate an addiction |
endorphins and enkephalins: | morphinelike substances
produced by the body. Primarily found in the central
nervous system, they have the potential to reduce pain |
nociception: | activation of sensory transduction in nerves
by thermal, mechanical, or chemical energy impinging
on specialized nerve endings; the nerves involved
convey information about tissue damage to the central nervous system |
nociceptor: | a receptor preferentially sensitive to a noxious stimulus |
non-nociceptor: | nerve fiber that usually does not transmit pain |
opioid: | a morphinelike compound that produces bodily
effects including pain relief, sedation, constipation, and
respiratory depression |
pain: | an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience
resulting from actual or potential tissue damage |
pain threshold: | the point at which a stimulus is perceived as painful |
pain tolerance: | the maximum intensity or duration of pain that a person is able to endure |
patient-controlled analgesia (PCA): | self-administration
of analgesic agents by a patient instructed about the procedure |
placebo effect: | analgesia that results from the expectation that a substance will work, not from the actual substance itself |
prostaglandins: | chemical substances that increase the
sensitivity of pain receptors by enhancing the painprovoking
effect of bradykinin |
referred pain: | pain perceived as coming from an area
different from that in which the pathology is occurring |
sensitization: | a heightened response seen after exposure to
a noxious stimulus. Response to the same stimulus is to
feel more pain |
tolerance: | occurs when a person who has been taking opioids
becomes less sensitive to their analgesic properties
(and usually side effects); characterized by the need for
increasing doses to maintain the same level of pain relief |