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Cancer Pain
Pain in cancer may arise from a tumor compressing or infiltrating nearby body parts; from treatments and diagnostic procedures; or from skin, nerve and other changes caused by a hormone imbalance or immune response. Most chronic (long-lasting) pain is caused by the illness and most acute (short-term) pain is caused by treatment or diagnostic procedures. However, radiotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy may produce painful conditions that persist long after treatment has ended. The presence of pain depends mainly on the location of the cancer and the stage of the disease. At any given time, about half of all people diagnosed with malignant cancer are experiencing pain, and two-thirds of those with advanced cancer experience pain of such intensity that it adversely affects their sleep, mood, social relations and activities of daily living. With competent management, cancer pain can be eliminated or well controlled in 80% to 90% of cases, but nearly 50% of cancer patients in the devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is pain that persists or recurs for longer than 3 months.https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en#1581976053 It is also known as gradual burning pain, electrical pain, throbbing pain, and nauseating pain. This type of pain is in contrast to acute pain, which is pain associated with a cause that can be relieved by treating the cause, and decreases or stops when the cause improves. Chronic pain can last for years. Persistent pain often serves no apparent useful purpose. The most common types of chronic pain are back pain, severe headache, migraine, and facial pain. Chronic pain can cause very severe psychological and physical effects that sometimes continue until the end of life. Analysis of the grey matter (damage to brain neurons), insomnia and sleep deprivation, metabolic problems, chronic stress, obesity, and heart attack are examples of physical disorders; and Depression (mood), depression, and neurocognitive disorders are examples of mental disorders. A wide ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Melzack
Ronald Melzack (July 19, 1929 – December 22, 2019) was a Canadian psychologist and professor of psychology at McGill University. In 1965, he and Patrick David Wall re-charged pain research by introducing the gate control theory of pain. In 1968, Melzack published an extension of the gate control theory, in which he asserted that pain is subjective and multidimensional because several parts of the brain contribute to it at the same time. During the mid-1970s, he developed the McGill Pain Questionnaire and became a founding member of the International Association for the Study of Pain. He also became the founding editor of '' Wall & Melzack's Textbook of Pain''. Melzack has received numerous honors including Prix du Québec (1994), the Order of Canada (1995), and the National Order of Quebec (2000). In 2010, he won the Grawemeyer Award for his research on the science of pain. Early life Melzack was born in Montreal, the son of Joseph Melzack, who worked in a clothing facto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brain Tumor
A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign tumor, benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and metastasis, secondary tumors, which most commonly have spread from tumors located outside the brain, known as brain metastasis tumors. All types of brain tumors may produce symptoms that vary depending on the size of the tumor and the part of the brain that is involved. Where symptoms exist, they may include headaches, seizures, problems with visual perception, vision, vomiting and cognition, mental changes. Other symptoms may include difficulty walking, speaking, with sensations, or unconsciousness. The cause of most brain tumors is unknown, though up to 4% of brain cancers may be caused by CT scan radiation. Uncommo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nerve Plexa
A nerve plexus is a plexus (branching network) of intersecting nerves. A nerve plexus is composed of afferent and efferent fibers that arise from the merging of the anterior rami of spinal nerves and blood vessels. There are five spinal nerve plexuses, except in the thoracic region, as well as other forms of autonomic plexuses, many of which are a part of the enteric nervous system. The nerves that arise from the plexuses have both sensory and motor functions. These functions include muscle contraction, the maintenance of body coordination and control, and the reaction to sensations such as heat, cold, pain, and pressure. There are several plexuses in the body, including: *Spinal plexuses **Cervical plexusserves the head, neck and shoulders **Brachial plexusserves the chest, shoulders, arms and hands **Lumbosacral plexus ***Lumbar plexusserves the back, abdomen, groin, thighs, knees, and calves **** Subsartorial plexusbelow the sartorius muscle of thigh ***Sacral plexusserves the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganglia
A ganglion (: ganglia) is a group of neuron cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system. In the somatic nervous system, this includes dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia among a few others. In the autonomic nervous system, there are both sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia which contain the cell bodies of postganglionic sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons respectively. A pseudoganglion looks like a ganglion, but only has nerve fibers and has no nerve cell bodies. Structure Ganglia are primarily made up of somata and dendritic structures, which are bundled or connected. Ganglia often interconnect with other ganglia to form a complex system of ganglia known as a plexus. Ganglia provide relay points and intermediary connections between different neurological structures in the body, such as the peripheral and central nervous systems. Among vertebrates there are three major groups of ganglia: * Dorsal root ganglia (also known as the spinal ganglia) cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nerve
A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerve impulses called action potentials that are transmitted along each of the axons to peripheral organs or, in the case of sensory nerves, from the periphery back to the central nervous system. Each axon is an extension of an individual neuron, along with other supportive cells such as some Schwann cells that coat the axons in myelin. Each axon is surrounded by a layer of connective tissue called the endoneurium. The axons are bundled together into groups called Nerve fascicle, fascicles, and each fascicle is wrapped in a layer of connective tissue called the perineurium. The entire nerve is wrapped in a layer of connective tissue called the epineurium. Nerve cells (often called neurons) are further classified as either Sensory neuron, sens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinal Cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal cord is hollow and contains a structure called the central canal, which contains cerebrospinal fluid. The spinal cord is also covered by meninges and enclosed by the neural arches. Together, the brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system. In humans, the spinal cord is a continuation of the brainstem and anatomically begins at the occipital bone, passing out of the foramen magnum and then enters the spinal canal at the beginning of the cervical vertebrae. The spinal cord extends down to between the first and second lumbar vertebrae, where it tapers to become the cauda equina. The enclosing bony vertebral column protects the relatively shorter spinal cord. It is around long in adult men and around long in adult women. The diam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superior Vena Cava Syndrome
Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS), is a group of symptoms caused by obstruction of the superior vena cava ("SVC"), a short, wide vessel carrying circulating blood into the heart. The majority of cases are caused by malignant tumors within the mediastinum, most commonly lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, directly compressing or invading the SVC wall. Non-malignant causes are increasing in prevalence due to expanding use of intravascular devices (such as permanent central venous catheters and leads for pacemakers and defibrillators), which can result in thrombosis. Other non-malignant causes include benign mediastinal tumors, aortic aneurysm, infections, and fibrosing mediastinitis. Characteristic features are edema (swelling due to excess fluid) of the face and arms and development of swollen Collateral circulation, collateral veins on the front of the Thoracic wall, chest wall. Dyspnea, Shortness of breath and coughing are quite common symptoms; Dysphagia, difficulty swall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superior Vena Cava
The superior vena cava (SVC) is the superior of the two venae cavae, the great venous trunks that return deoxygenated blood from the systemic circulation to the right atrium of the heart. It is a large-diameter (24 mm) short length vein that receives venous return from the upper half of the body, above the diaphragm. Venous return from the lower half, below the diaphragm, flows through the inferior vena cava. The SVC is located in the anterior right superior mediastinum. It is the typical site of central venous access via a central venous catheter or a peripherally inserted central catheter. Mentions of "the cava" without further specification usually refer to the SVC. Structure The superior vena cava is formed by the left and right brachiocephalic veins, which receive blood from the upper limbs, head and neck, behind the lower border of the first right costal cartilage. It passes vertically downwards behind the first intercostal space and receives the azygos vei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deep Vein Thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enlarged veins in the affected area, but some DVTs have no symptoms. The most common life-threatening concern with DVT is the potential for a clot to embolize (detach from the veins), travel as an embolus through the right side of the heart, and become lodged in a pulmonary artery that supplies blood to the lungs. This is called a pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT and PE comprise the cardiovascular disease of venous thromboembolism (VTE). About two-thirds of VTE manifests as DVT only, with one-third manifesting as PE with or without DVT. The most frequent long-term DVT Complication (medicine), complication is post-thrombotic syndrome, which can cause pain, swelling, a sensation of heaviness, itching, and in severe cases, ulcers. Recurrent VTE o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pins And Needles
Paresthesia is a sensation of the skin that may feel like numbness (''hypoesthesia''), tingling, pricking, chilling, or burning. It can be temporary or chronic and has many possible underlying causes. Paresthesia is usually painless and can occur anywhere on the body, but most commonly in the arms and legs. The most familiar kind of paresthesia is the sensation known as ''pins and needles'' after having a limb "fall asleep" (''obdormition''). A less common kind is formication, the sensation of insects crawling on the skin. Causes Transient Paresthesias of the hands, feet, legs, and arms are common transient symptoms. The briefest electric shock type of paresthesia can be caused by tweaking the ulnar nerve near the elbow; this phenomenon is colloquially known as bumping one's "funny bone". Similar brief shocks can be experienced when any other nerve is tweaked (e.g. a pinched neck nerve may cause a brief shock-like paresthesia toward the scalp). In the older age group, spinal c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain is pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. Neuropathic pain may be associated with abnormal sensations called dysesthesia or pain from normally non-painful stimuli (allodynia). It may have continuous and/or episodic (paroxysmal) components. The latter resemble stabbings or electric shocks. Common qualities include burning or coldness, "pins and needles" sensations, numbness and itching. Up to 7–8% of the European population is affected by neuropathic pain, and in 5% of persons it may be severe. The pain may result from disorders of the peripheral nervous system or the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Neuropathic pain may occur in isolation or in combination with other forms of pain. Medical treatments focus on identifying the underlying cause and relieving pain. In cases of peripheral neuropathy, the pain may progress to insensitivity. Diagnosis Diagnosis of pain conditions relies on the character of the pain w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
