Acupuncture – Needles are placed into the skin and muscles in order to relieve pain.  Some types include the use of electrical stimulation.

Acute Pain – a suddenly occurring sharp or sever pain.

Addiction - a compulsive physiological need for and use of a habit-forming substance (i.e. narcotics or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.  

Algology - The science and study of pain. An algologist is a student , investigator, or practitioner of algology.

Allodynia - Pain due to a stimulus that does not normally provoke pain. The original definition adopted by the IASP committee was pain due to non-noxious stimulus to the normal skin. Allodynia involves a change in the quality of a sensation, tactile, thermal, or of any other kind. The usual response to a stimulus was not painful, but the present response is.

Analgesia - Absence of pain in response to stimulation that would normally be painful.

Anesthesia - Absence of all sensation.

Anesthetic - An agent or agents that produce regional anesthesia (certain part of the body) or general anesthesia (loss of consciousness).

Anesthesia Dolorosa - Where pain is present in an area that is anesthetic.

Angina - Usually pain syndromes associated with cardiac disease. May indicate a feeling of oppression or tightness of the chest or throat.

Anti-inflammatory medication - Medicines used to reduce inflammation

Anterior - Front portion of the body

Arthralgia - Pain in a joint, usually due to arthritis.

Arthropathy -  A disease of a joint

Arthroplasty - Plastic surgery of a joint (as hip or knee); the operative formation or restoration of a joint

Arthroscopy -  Examination of a joint with an arthroscope; joint surgery using an arthroscope

Articular -  relating to a joint

Causalgia - A syndrome of sustained burning pain, allodynia, and hyperpathia after a nerve injury, often combined with vasomotor and sudomotor dysfunction and later trophic changes.

Central Pain - Pain associated with a lesion of the central nervous system

Cervical Spine - the vertebrae known as C1 to C7 are located in the neck. The top cervical connects to the base of the skull. 

Chronic Pain  - Pain that lingers after the normal healing process is complete. Usually pain that last longer than six weeks is considered chronic pain.

Deafferentation Pain - Pain due to loss of sensory input into the central nervous system (as can occur with avulsion of the brachial plexus), or other types of peripheral nerve lesions. Can also be due to pathologic lesions of the central nervous system.

Dermatome - A sensory segment of the skin supplied by a specific nerve root.

Disc -  located in the spinal column.  They separate the vertebrae, are flexible, and allow spinal motion.

Disc Degeneration - deterioration in which its vitality is diminished or its structure impaired.

Dysesthesia - An abnormal unpleasant sensation, can be spontaneous of evoked. A dysesthesia is always unpleasant. The patient must decide whether a sensation is pleasant or unpleasant.

Epidural –  an injection administered outside the dura mater (the epidural space)

Epidural Injection -  An injection of medication into the epidural space

Epidural Space – The epidural space is located between the dura and the interior surface of the spinal canal. 

Endoscopy -  a procedure using an endoscope to visually inspect tissue in the epidural space.  Medication can be delivered directly on inflamed nerves and break up adhesions.  The procedure may also be called an epiduroscopy, myeloscopy, spinal endoscopy or neuroplasty.

Facet Joint – The facet joints are small joints that are located on the back of the spine, one on each side.  Each vertebra is connected by facet joints.  They provide stability to the spine by interlocking two vertebrae.

Fusion - immobilization of a joint

Hematoma- A mass of clotted blood. 

Herniated Disc - The vertebrae in the spine are cushioned by small discs.  The discs have an outer shell that surround a gel-like material called the nucleus.  The discs act as shock absorbers for the spine and keep it flexible.  If the discs are damaged, they may bulge or break open (rupture).  If a disc bulges abnormally or ruptures it is called a herniated disc.

Hyperesthesia - Increased sensitivity to any stimulation.

Hyperalgesia - An increased response to a stimulus that is normally painful.

Hyperpathia - Abnormally exaggerated subjective response to painful stimuli. May occur with hyperesthesia, hyperalgesia, or dysesthesia. The pain is often explosive in character.

Hypoalgesia - Diminished sensation to noxious stimulation.

Hypoesthesia - Abnormally decreased sensitivity, particularly to touch.

Lumbar Spine - Located in the spine between the thoracic vertebrae and sacrum and are known as L1 – L5.  The lumbar area of the spine is the main weight bearing section.

Myelogram - A diagnostic radiograph of the spinal cord.

Nerve Block –  a nerve block is a procedure involving the injection of an anesthetic or neurolytic agent into or near specific nerves to relieve pain

Neuralgia - Pain in the distribution of a specific nerve or nerves.

Neuritis - Inflammation of a nerve or nerves.

Neuropathic Pain - Pain syndrome in which the predominant mechanism is aberrant somatosensory processing. May be restricted to pain originating in peripheral nerves and nerve roots.

Neuropathy - A functional disturbance or pathological change in the peripheral nervous system, sometimes limited to non-inflammatory lesions as opposed to neuritis.

Nociceptor - A receptor for pain, preferentially sensitive to a noxious stimulus or to a stimulus that would become noxious if continued. Pain is a perception that takes place at higher levels of the central nervous system.

Noxious Stimulus - Stimulus that is potentially or actually damaging to body tissue (hurtful; not wholesome; pernicious).

Pain - Sensation of discomfort, distress, or agony, resulting from the stimulation of specialized nerve endings. It serves as a protective mechanism (induces the sufferer to remove or withdraw).

Pain Threshold - Pain threshold is the least experience of pain that a subject can recognize. Pain is always the experience of the patient and is individual, the stimulus intensity is an outside event.

Pain Tolerance Level - The greatest level of pain that a patient is able to tolerate. Pain is a subjective experience, hence pain tolerance level is the subjective experience of the particular patient and has the same clinical limitations as the pain tolerance level.

Paralysis - Complete or partial loss of function especially when involving the power of motion or of sensation in any part of the body

Paraparesis – partial paralysis affecting the lower limbs

Paresis – Partial paralysis

Paresthesia - An abnormal sensation, such as burning, prickling, whether spontaneous or evoked.

Posterior – The back side of the human body

Quadriparesis – Partial paralysis of arms and legs

Quadriplegia – Complete paralysis of arms and legs

Radiculalgia - Pain along the distribution of one or more sensory nerve roots.

Radiculopathy - A usually painful disturbance of function or pathologic change in one or more nerve roots.

Radiculitis - Inflammation of one or more nerve roots

Rhizotomy –  surgical cutting of the anterior or posterior spinal nerve roots

Sacrum – Located at the lower end of the spine, it consist of 5 fused vertebrae.  It is the part of the spinal column that is directly connected to part of the pelvis.

Sciatica - Pain that runs along the course of the sciatic nerve is referred to by laypersons as sciatica.  It especially appears in the back of the thigh also causing pain in the lower back, buttocks, hips, and/or adjacent parts.

Scoliosis - Curvature of the spine (sideways)

Skeleton – The supportive bony structure that provides protection for the organs.

Somatosensory - Pertaining to sensations received from all tissues of the body (skin, muscles, joints, and viscera.

Spinal Column -   the bony column, which forms the main structural support of the skeleton is known as the spinal column, vertebral column or backbone.  The ribs that make up the front of the chest are linked to the thoracic vertebrae.  There are 33 vertebrae (bones) that form the spinal column.

Somatosensory - Pertaining to sensations received from all tissues of the body (skin, muscles, joints and viscera.

Suffering - Suffering is an emotional state associated with biological and/or psychosocial events that threaten the individuals integrity. Suffering  usually accompanies severe pain, but may occur in its absence.

Trigger Point - A hypersensitive area in muscle or connective tissue with pain that radiates on pressure. May be associated with myofascial pain syndromes or fibromyalgia.

ENCYCLOPEDIA/MEDICAL DICTIONARY RESOURCES:

Medicine Net.com - Medical Dictionary (Doctor’s View Library/Health Facts Library)
http://www.medicinenet.com

Virtual Hospital - digital health science library
http://www.vh.org

Merriam-Webster Online The Language Center Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus
(Add a free Dictionary button to your browser)
(Put a free Dictionary Search Box on your web site)
http://www.m-w.com