Anaesthesia Fundamentals | Physiology | Visceral Pain and Neuropathic Pain

Visceral Pain and Neuropathic Pain
Session Overview
Description
This session describes the clinical features of visceral pain and neuropathic pain, and contrasts these with somatic pain. The neurological pathway is discussed and the principle of central sensitization.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• List the clinical features of visceral pain
• Describe the differences between the basic pain pathway and that for visceral pain
• Explain how central sensitization develops and the mechanism of referred pain
• Describe the clinical features of neuropathic pain
• Understand the precipitating factors of neuropathic pain

Prerequisites
Before commencing this session you should:

• Have an understanding of the pain pathways associated with somatic pain

Visceral pain is a term used to refer to pain which arises from the viscera, i.e. the internal organs of the chest, abdomen and pelvis.

The afferent innervation of viscera is predominately by small unmyelinated fibres. These run centrally along with, but distinct from the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibres.

Although it is recognized that this session includes much clinical information beyond the basic sciences seen in the Primary FRCA, it was felt appropriate to include it to give an overview of the topic.