Question

Describe the analgesic pathway that will lessen pain sensitivity.

Answer 1

Pain pathway basically involves 4 steps such as transduction, transmission, perception and modulation. An analgesic acts on one of these 4 pathways as to lessen pain perception. At the transduction pathway, inflammatory mediators are inhibited by analgesics thereby reducing pain. At the transmission pathway, signal from sensory fiber to the spinal cord gets blocked thereby relieving pain. At the perception point, analgesics act directly on pain centers of brain which will lessen the pain sensitivity. Finally at the modulation point signal from the brain back to the spinal cord and fibers as to lessen the pain gets amplified by analgesics, thereby reducing pain.