NURS 326
NURS 326 Exam 5 Pain Management
Updated 2026
Pain is a ___ experience
subjective
Nurses are legally and ethically responsible for
assessing and managing pain
What is pain?
-unpleasant sensory/emotional experience
-can warn of potential injury
-multidimensional experience
What destructive effects can pain cause?
-sleep loss
-irritability
-cognitive impairment
-functional impairment
-immobility
Pain causes the release of what vasoactive and pro-nociceptive mediators?
-prostaglandins
-bradykinin
-substance P
-histamine
What are nociceptors?
pain receptors (pain nerves) that are stimulated by thermal, chemical, or physical means
The release of vasoactive and pro-nociceptive mediators lowers
the action potential threshold (the point at which the pain nerve activates and starts
sending a pain message) on nociceptors
When the action potential threshold on nociceptors lowers, it leads to
peripheral sensitization
NURS 326
, NURS 326
What is peripheral sensitization?
-increased susceptibility to nociceptor activation (light touch)
-It takes much less stimulation to cause pain, things that normally wouldn’t hurt
now do hurt
Nociception is an ___ activity in the nervous system
observable
What are the four processes of nociception?
-transduction
-transmission
-pain perception
-pain modulation
What is transduction?
activation of nociceptors by stimuli
What is transmission?
conduction of pain message to spinal cord
What is pain perception?
recognizing and defining pain in cortex
What is pain modulation?
changing pain perception by facilitating or inhibiting pain signals
Pain modulation is changing the perception of pain by either facilitating or inhibiting pain
signals through the ___ and ___.
-endogenous analgesia system
-gate-control theory
What are endogenous opioids?
naturally occurring analgesic neurotransmitters that inhibit the transmission of pain
impulses
-natural chemicals your body releases to reduce pain by stopping pain messages from
being sent to the brain
NURS 326
NURS 326 Exam 5 Pain Management
Updated 2026
Pain is a ___ experience
subjective
Nurses are legally and ethically responsible for
assessing and managing pain
What is pain?
-unpleasant sensory/emotional experience
-can warn of potential injury
-multidimensional experience
What destructive effects can pain cause?
-sleep loss
-irritability
-cognitive impairment
-functional impairment
-immobility
Pain causes the release of what vasoactive and pro-nociceptive mediators?
-prostaglandins
-bradykinin
-substance P
-histamine
What are nociceptors?
pain receptors (pain nerves) that are stimulated by thermal, chemical, or physical means
The release of vasoactive and pro-nociceptive mediators lowers
the action potential threshold (the point at which the pain nerve activates and starts
sending a pain message) on nociceptors
When the action potential threshold on nociceptors lowers, it leads to
peripheral sensitization
NURS 326
, NURS 326
What is peripheral sensitization?
-increased susceptibility to nociceptor activation (light touch)
-It takes much less stimulation to cause pain, things that normally wouldn’t hurt
now do hurt
Nociception is an ___ activity in the nervous system
observable
What are the four processes of nociception?
-transduction
-transmission
-pain perception
-pain modulation
What is transduction?
activation of nociceptors by stimuli
What is transmission?
conduction of pain message to spinal cord
What is pain perception?
recognizing and defining pain in cortex
What is pain modulation?
changing pain perception by facilitating or inhibiting pain signals
Pain modulation is changing the perception of pain by either facilitating or inhibiting pain
signals through the ___ and ___.
-endogenous analgesia system
-gate-control theory
What are endogenous opioids?
naturally occurring analgesic neurotransmitters that inhibit the transmission of pain
impulses
-natural chemicals your body releases to reduce pain by stopping pain messages from
being sent to the brain
NURS 326
