Narcotic Analgesic Agents
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- acute pain
- pain that is sudden in onset and usually subsides when treated
- adjuvent agent
- a drug that is not a primary analgesic but has been shown to have independant or additive analgesic properties
- agonist
- a substance that binds to a receptor and causes a response
- agonist-antagonist
- a substance that binds to a receptor and causes that receptor to be stimulated and a response to occur while simultaneously binding to another receptor, occupying it but not stimulating it
- analgesics
- medications that relieve pain without causing loss of consciousness and sometimes referred to as painkillers
- antagonist
- an agent that binds to a receptor and prevents a response
- chronic pain
- persistent or recurring pain that is often very difficult to treat
- gate theory
- the most common and well-described theory of pain transmission and pain relief: it uses a gate model to explain how impulses from damaged tissues are sensed in the brain
- narcotic analgesics
- very strong and addicting pain relievers
- narcotic withdrawl (opiod abstinance syndrome)
- the signs and symptoms associated with the abstinence from or withrawl of opiod analgesics when the body has become physically dependant on the substance
- opiate and opiod analgesics
- narcotic pain relievers that contain opium, are derived from opium, or are chemically related to opium
- opioid tolerance
- a common physiological result of long-term opiod use in which larger doses of opiods are required to maintain the same levels of analgesia
- pain
- an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue dammage
- pain threshold
- the level of stimulus that results in the perception of pain
- pain tolerance
- the amount of pain a patient can endure without its interfering with normal function
- partial agonist
- a substance that binds to part of a receptor and causes effects similar to but less pronounced than those of a pure agononist
- physical dependence
- the physical adaptation of the body to the presence of an opiod or other addicting substance (i.e. barbiturates)
- psychologic dependence (addiction)
- a pattern of compulsive opiod use characterized by a continuous craving for the substance and the need to use it for effects other than pain relief
- somatic pain
- pain that originates from skeletal muscles, ligaments, or joints
- superficial pain
- pain that originates from the skin or mucous membranes
- visceral pain
- pain that originates from organs or smooth muscles