algesi-, alge-, alges-, algesio-, algi-, algio-, -algesia, -algesic, -algetic, -algic, -algia, -algy

(Greek: pain, sense of pain; painful; hurting)

Used actively in medical terminology to denote a condition of sensitivity to pain as specified by the combining root.

algesimeter
An instrument used in measuring the sensitiveness to or the perception threshold for pain as produced with a sharp point or an apparatus for determining the sensitiveness of the skin.
algesimetry
The measurement of sensitivity to pain.
algesiogenic
Producing pain.
algesiometer
An instrument for measuring the degree of sensitivity to a painful stimulus; also, algesimeter, algometer, odynometer.
algesireceptor
In physiology, a pain receptor, usually a bare nerve ending without any organized end organ. Also, nociceptor.
algesthesia (s) (noun), algesthesias (pl)
The sensibility to pain or the perception of pain; any painful sensation: When Dr. Smith administered a series of pinpricks, Susan experienced algesthesia which was what the doctor was hoping to see.

The prevalence of pain disorders are twice as high in women as in men; when the peak of onset is in the fourth and fifth decades.

The most common sites of pain are the lower back, the head, the face, and the pelvis. It is estimated that low back pain disables seven million Americans and accounts for more than eight million physician office visits each year.

—Robert J. Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary
Seventh Edition, Oxford University Press, 1996

Man endures pain as an undeserved punishment; a woman accepts it as a natural heritage.

—Anonymous
algesthesis (s) (noun), algestheses (pl)
Pain sensation; the ability to perceive pain: After months of therapy, Pasqual was able to experience algesthesis which made him feel as if he were truly on the road to recovery.

When she stubbed her toe on the rock, Katherine exclaimed that she was experiencing severe algesthesis.

Pain exists beyond a simple touch

Pain warns our brains of danger and tells us to act to correct the situation, or to avoid whatever caused the pain.

Is there anyone who does not have vivid memories of burning one's hand on a hot stove and quickly withdrawing it? Pain is a powerful reminder and so we learn to be very careful and to avoid whatever caused it.

Pain does not always warn us of danger. It comes too late for us to avoid a bad sunburn, and a tumor in the brain can grow unnoticed because the tissue within our skulls has no pain receptors.

There are more pain receptors in the skin than other types of skin sensors, but they are not evenly distributed. For example, the neck and eyelids are densely covered, but there are few receptors on the soles of the feet and on the balls of the thumb, which is why a needle prick for a blood sample is often done on one of the thumbs.

—"The Pain Beyond Touch" by Neil McAleer in The body Almanac;
Doubleday & Company, Inc.; Garden City; New York, 1985, page 59.
algetic
Painful; causing or pertaining to pain.
alginuresis
Painful urination.
algiocide
Pain killer.
algiomotor
Producing painful movements, such as spasm or dysperistalsis.
algiomuscular
Causing painful muscular movements.
algiovascular, algovascular
Pertaining to some vascular action as a result of a painful stimulation.
alveoalgia, alveolalgia
A postoperative complication of tooth extraction in which the blood clot in the socket disintegrates, resulting in focal osteomyelitis and severe pain.
amnalgesia
A technique by which all pain and memory of a potentially painful procedure are abolished, involving the use of drugs or, for minor procedures, hypnosis.

You may take self-scoring quizzes over some of the words in this unit by going to Algesi Quiz to check your word knowledge of these words.