Mechanisms of Pain

by Krishnan Chakravarthy (Editor), Alaa Abd-Elsayed (Editor)

Overview

Pain is a serious health problem. This book presents an intensive review of the anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology of the systems that mediate nociceptive processing. The authors cover areas that include anatomy, central and peripheral nerve processing, tissue and nerve injury states, as well as preclinical and clinical models of pain. Mechanisms of Pain also covers important clinical concepts, with specific emphasis on mechanisms of action. Written by world renowned global faculty, this book covers important areas of science required to understand pain medicine. Important topics covered include post–tissue and nerve injury pain states of primary afferents and the spinal cord. The authors also cover mechanisms of action of clinically relevant analgesics (opiates and non-opiates), psychological aspects of pain, pathophysiology of migraines, as well as the genetics of pain. This comprehensive book is to guide undergraduate, graduate, and clinicians in the field of pain medicine on important concepts related to the science and practice of pain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367533175
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	06/29/2025
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Krishnan Chakravarthy is an interventional pain and spine surgeon. He is President and Co-Founder at Solaris Research Institute (SRI). Currently, he is also a partner at Innovative Pain Treatment Solutions and Surgery Center in Temecula CA. He is also the founder of the Empower You Chronic Pain Foundation focusing on patient access, advocacy, and knowledge. Dr. Chakravarthy is an affiliate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Nanoengineering at UCSD Health and VA San Diego Healthcare. His research work has been featured in national and international venues and has been published in top journals, including Anesthesiology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, and Pain. He has to date lectured in over four hundred regional, national, and international venues, and has more than hundred published works. Expertscape's PubMed-based algorithms placed Dr. Chakravarthy in the top 0.1% of scholars writing about Pain Management over the past 10 years defining him as a "World Expert.” Currently, he is President-Elect of the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience, and has won numerous national and international awards for his clinical and research work, most notable include the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience Young Innovator Award.

Abd-Elsayed serves as the medical director of UW Health Pain Services, medical director UW Health Pain Clinic, division chief of chronic pain management, and associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He published more than 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts, edited more than 30 books, authored dozens of book chapters and serves on the editorial board of several prestigious journals, including Pain Physician, Pain Practice, Journal of Pain Research, Neuromodulation, Pain and Therapy, advances in therapy and interventional pain medicine. In addition, Dr. Abd-Elsayed serves as the editor-in-chief for Pain Medicine Case Reports, and serves on the board of directors of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP), the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) and the council of advisors of the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience. He is currently the president and executive director of the Wisconsin Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (WISIPP).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1- Introductory and Key Concepts in the Basis of Pain

Chapter 2- Organization of the Nervous System: Gross Anatomy

Chapter 3- Neurophysiology of Pain – Peripheral

Chapter 4- DRG/Peripheral Nerve: Multicellular Modality and Coding

Chapter 5- Peripheral Nerve and Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) Pharmacology: Mechanisms, Therapeutic Targets, and Clinical Applications

Chapter 6- Dorsal Horn Organization and Processing

Chapter 7- The Psychophysiology of Pain

Chapter 8-  Post Tissue Injury Pain State – Primary Afferent

Chapter 9- Post Tissue Injury Pain State – Spinal Cord

Chapter 10- Post Nerve Injury Pain States (Primary Afferent)

Chapter 11- Spinal Cord

Chapter 12- Visceral Pain System/ Neuro-Immune Interaction 

Chapter 13- Preclinical Models of Pain

Chapter 14- Human Experimental Pain Models: Clinical Applications and Molecular Mechanisms in Drug Development

Chapter 15- Psychological Aspects of Pain: A Focus on Depression

Chapter 16- Neuromodulation 

Chapter 17- Mechanisms of Action of Clinically Relevant Analgesics (Opioids)

Chapter 18- Mechanisms of Action of Clinically Relevant Analgesics (Non-Opiates)

Chapter 19- “Pathophysiology of Migraine”

Chapter 20- Genetics of Pain

Chapter 21- Chronic Low Back Pain: Etiology and Treatment