Abdominal pain

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience of varying intensity associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Special receptors are irritated at the site of tissue damage, giving rise to a nerve impulse that is transmitted along sensory nerves to the brain, where it is perceived as pain. The sensation of pain is followed by a negative emotional response, accompanied by fear, agitation, or depression – suffering. If pain persists for a long time, a person’s behavior changes: they talk about pain, worry, constantly visit doctors or pharmacists, seek relief, their posture changes, and their facial expression changes. Pain can be caused by any tissue damage – mechanical, thermal, chemical, inflammatory. Acute pain, which starts suddenly and lasts no longer than 1 month, is called acute. Chronic pain is referred to when it lasts longer than 6 months. If pain lasts longer than 1 month but does not exceed half a year, it is considered subacute.

Source | Author Doctor Nikas Samuolis, reviewed by Prof. Virginijus Šapoka | Vilnius University | Faculty of Medicine | Head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Oncology