NURS305 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Peripheral Nervous System, Cancer Pain, Action Potential
23 Dec 2016
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Central nervous system: 2 substances for pain transmission: substance p and glutamate. Pain can be classified based on duration, frequency, form, and association with cancer: duration: acute pain, from tissue damage (injury or surgery). Typically associated with specific evens like a trauma or disease: duration: chronic (persistent) pain, pain becomes chronic when it lasts >3 months, signs of distress seen with acute pain are absent in chronic pain, frequency: continuous/intermittent/episodic pain. Once pain becomes a more constant stimulus, the nervous system can modify its function. Produced when repeated assaults on the afferent neurons create enhanced response and increased activity in the cns. Infants, newborns are at risk for under treatment bc myths that they don"t experience pain. Infants have just as much pain receptors as adults do: pain is not an expected consequence of aging. But many seniors think age is a result of aging: no evidence suggests that pain sensation is diminished in older adults.
