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.

podalgia, pedionalgia, pedioneuralgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in one foot or both feet: Such foot pains, like podalgia, may be a result of gout or rheumtism, among other causes.

Podalgia can cause suffering in the sole of a foot or both feet.

Podalgia can also be described as pododynia or tarsalgia.

polyalgesia (s) (noun) (no pl)
A disorder in which a single painful stimulus produces the sensation of multiple painful stimuli: When very sick in bed, Sam's mother touched his head, and Sam repulsed her touch saying that his whole body hurt him when she did that. Their family doctor said that that was possible and that such a case was termed polyalgesia.
polyalgesic (adjective) (not comparable)
Descriptive of a person's sensation of an agonizing stimulus as if many stimuli had been employed: Dr. Smart tol Jim that the polyalgesic effects he was experiencing with the injections he needed were quite normal.
polymyalgia (s) (noun), polymyalgias (pl)
Muscle pain affecting several muscles or muscle groups simultaneously; myalgia: Polymyalgia is a syndrome and can occur as a stiffness in the neck., shoulders, upper arms, and hips.
polyneuralgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Neuralgia (acute spasmodic pain) of several nerves simultaneously: Jane read that autoimmune diseases can cause a condition of polyneuralgia, like rheumatoid arthritis and chronic inflation, among others.
proctalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain at the anus, or in the rectum; proctodynia; rectalgia: A few causes for a condition of proctalgia can be an anal fissure, haemorrhoids, and diarrhoea.
prosopalgia, prosoponeuralgia (s) (noun), prosopalgias (pl)
Facial neuralgia: Some reasons for a case of prosopalgia can be a headache, trigeminal neuralgia (cranial nerve), and dental pain. .
prosopalgic (adjective) (not comparable)
Pertaining to an acute, severe, intermittent pain in the face that runs along a nerve: Jack's dentist told him that his suffering came from a prosopalgic condition caused by a very bad tooth which would have to be extracted right away!
prostatalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in the area of the prostate gland: Bladder or kidney stones, a biopsy, an injury to the pelvis, and a urinary catheterization are just three causes of prostatalgia.
prostatalgia, prostatodynia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in the prostate; some authorities limit usage to pain of unknown origin, such as that seen in nonbacterial prostatitis: Prostatalgia is a type of inflammation of the prostate which is not a result of bacterial infection and in which there are no objective findings, such as the presence of infection-fighting cells, in the urine of men who suffer from the disease.

Prostatodynia is typically a chronic, painful disease. The symptoms (including chills, fever, pain in the lower back and genital area, body aches, burning or painful urination, and the frequent and urgent need to urinate) characteristically go away and then come back without warning.

The urine and fluid from the prostate reveal no evidence of a known infecting organism or of cells that the body usually produces to fight infection.

Apparently treatment is ineffective. Therapy with antibiotics and with drugs that relax the muscles of the prostate gland is often attempted and fails.

psychalgia (s) (noun), psychalgias (pl)
Any non-physical pain: Psychalgia can be described as distress attending a mental effort, noted especially in melancholia and is also termed algopsychalia, mind pain, phrenalgia, psychalgalia, and soul pain.

Psychalgia is a kind of mental distress marked by auditory and visual hallucinations, often associated with melancholia.

Discomfort or pain, usually in the head and termed psychalgia, accompanies mental activity (obsessions, hallucinations, etc.), and is recognized by the patient as being emotional in origin.

Psychalgia is also used to refer to any psychogenic pain disorder.

psychroalgia, psychralgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
A painful sensation of cold: Psychroalgia can be a morbid state characterized by an agonizing and subjective feeling of being cold.
pternalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in the heel: It was interesting to learn that obesity, running and jumping on inflexible or hard surfaces, ill-fitting shoes, or even an unusual manner of walking can cause pternalgia.
ptoalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain caused by or resulting from some emotional origin: Ptoalgia can arise from a psychological circumstances, like anxiety, depression, and stress.
pulpalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Toothache, sensitivity, or pain of the dental pulp: The dentist, Dr. Stang, told Jim that bacteria irritating the dental pulp because of tooth decay was causing the condition of pulpalgia.

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.