Glossary
Acupuncture:
Chinese practice of inserting needles into the skin at specific
points of the body to relieve pain.
- Addiction:
psychological or emotional dependence on the effects of a drug.
- Analgesics:
- medicines that are used to relieve pain.
- Anesthesiologist:
- a doctor who specializes in giving drugs or other agents that prevent
or relieve pain.
- Antidepressant:
a medicine used to treat depression.
- Chemotherapy:
- treatment with anticancer drugs.
- Cordotomy:
- surgery to cut some of the fibers of the spinal cord; used to relieve
pain.
- Distraction:
- a pain relief method that takes the attention away from the pain.
- Dose:
the amount of medicine taken.
- Duration of action:
- the length of time that the effect of a medicine lasts.
- Epidural:
- into the spinal column but outside of the spinal cord.
- Frequency:
- how often medicine is taken.
- Hypnosis:
- a trance-like state in which response to suggestions or commands is
increased.
- Imagery:
a method of pain relief that uses mental images produced by memory
or imagination.
- Infusion:
- a method of giving pain medication into a vein or under the skin; unlike
an injection, which is pushed in by a syringe, an infusion flows in by gravity.
Some continuous infusions are given using a mechanical pump.
- Intramuscular (IM):
- into a muscle.
- Intrathecal (IC):
- into the spinal cord.
- Intravenous (IV):
- into a vein.
- Local anesthetic:
- a drug that blocks nerve conduction in the region where it is applied.
- Metastasis:
- the spread of cancer from one part of the body to another.
- Narcotic:
- pain relieving drug related in action and structure to the opiates.
- Nerve block:
- pain relief method in which an anesthetic is injected into a nerve.
- Neurosurgeon:
- a doctor who specializes in operations on the brain, nerves, and spinal
cord.
- Nonprescription (over the counter) pain relievers:
- analgesics that can be bought without a doctor's order.
- Oncologist:
- a doctor who specializes in the treatment of cancer.
- Onset of action:
- the length of time it takes for a medicine to start to work.
- Opiate:
- pain-killing drug chemically related to opium; also called a narcotic.
- Pain threshold:
- the level of pain at which a person becomes aware of it.
- Pediatric oncologist:
- a doctor who specializes in treating children with cancer.
- Physical therapy:
- the health profession that treats pain in muscles, nerves, joints, and
bones with exercise, electrical stimulation, hydrotherapy, and the use of
massage, heat, cold, and electrical devices.
- Prescription pain relievers:
- analgesics that can be bought only with a doctor's order.
- Radiation therapy:
- treatment with high energy from x-rays or other sources to kill cancer
cells.
- Relaxation techniques:
- methods used to lessen tension, reduce anxiety, and manage pain.
- Rhizotomy:
- incision of nerve roots within the spinal canal.
- Side effect:
- an unintended symptom that results from using a drug.
- Skin stimulation:
- the use of pressure, friction, temperature change, or chemical substances
to excite the nerve endings in the skin.
- Stage:
- the extent of disease.
- Subcutaneous:
- under the skin.
- Tolerance:
- decreasing effect of a drug with the same dose or the need to increase
the dose to maintain the same effect.
- Tranquilizer:
a drug used to treat anxiety.