ATI TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) Version 7English and Language UsageHard
A healthcare professional is documenting a patient's pain level. The patient describes a burning pain that is consistently present, even at rest. Which of the following terms best describes this type of pain?
- ANociceptive pain
- BNeuropathic pain
- CSomatic pain
- DVisceral pain
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Neuropathic pain
Neuropathic pain is caused by damage or dysfunction of the nervous system itself, rather than by stimulation of pain receptors. It is often described as burning, tingling, shooting, or electric-shock like, and can be present without an obvious external injury.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Nociceptive pain arises from actual or threatened damage to non-neural tissue and is due to the activation of nociceptors. It includes somatic and visceral pain.
- C. Somatic pain originates from skin, muscles, joints, bones, and ligaments, usually localized and described as aching, throbbing, or sharp.
- D. Visceral pain originates from internal organs, often described as dull, aching, or squeezing, and poorly localized.
Neuropathic Pain
Pain arising from damage or dysfunction of the somatosensory nervous system.
- Often described as burning, shooting, tingling, or electric-shock like
- Can be chronic and persistent
- May occur spontaneously without stimulus
- Examples: diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, phantom limb pain
Memory trick: Pain has types, from tissue to nerve, know the source to properly serve.