Module 21 Somatosensory Disorders and Pain Syndromes

Vocabulary-based flashcards covering neuropathic pain, specific neuralgias, types of headaches, and associated sensory phenomena like allodynia.

Neuropathic pain

Pain caused by damage, injury, disease, or dysfunction affecting the peripheral nervous system.

Trigeminal neuralgia

A disorder caused by demyelination of the trigeminal nerve axons, often from compression, resulting in sharp, stabbing facial pain without numbness and may include facial tics or spasms.

Postherpetic neuralgia

Persistent nerve pain following a shingles infection caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, characterized by burning, aching, or shooting pain along a dermatome.

Varicella-zoster virus

The shingles virus that remains dormant in the dorsal root ganglia and can lead to postherpetic neuralgia upon reactivation.

Primary headaches

Headaches where the headache itself is the main disorder, including migraines, tension-type, cluster, and TMJ-related headaches.

Secondary headaches

Headaches that occur as a result of another underlying condition such as meningitis, brain tumors, aneurysms, trauma, or hemorrhage.

Tension headache

The most common headache type, often triggered by stress or dehydration, producing a dull, diffuse, aching pain not associated with nausea or vomiting.

Migraine headache

A primary headache more common in women that causes pulsing or throbbing pain lasting $1-2$ days, often associated with nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.

Aura

Visual or sensory disturbances that some patients experience before the onset of a migraine headache.

Allodynia

Pain produced by a stimulus that normally does not cause pain, such as a light touch or wind, due to abnormal tissue innervation.

Cluster headaches

Rare primary headaches more common in men that occur in clusters over weeks or months, causing severe, continuous one-sided pain.