definition of nociceptive pain
If we start with the concept of pain as a disease, then treatment begins with a pain diagnosis. Pain pathophysiology comprises 2 categories: nociceptive and neuropathic pain. Nociceptive pain is further divided into visceral and somatic pain, and neuropathic pain is divided into peripheral and central neuropathic pain. Nociceptive, or somatic, pain is the common discomfort we have all experienced as a result of injury -- a paper cut, a broken bone, or appendicitis, among other things. Somatic pain makes sense to us; we can understand the patient's pain.