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PHRM30002 Exam Questions With Correct
Answers
What is pain? - answer✔Unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that protects subject
from tissue damage.
If uncontrolled, can contribute to central and autonomic disturbances; anxiety, depression, BP,
HR
Acute pain and treatment - answer✔Acute:
-typically defined as lasting less than 3 months
- somatic: sharp, localised pain
- visceral: dull ache, poorly localised
Treatment: depends on severity
1. Paracetamol
2. Paracetamol + Ibuprofen (NSAID) and/or oral opioid
3. Step 2 + increased dose of opioid or IV opioid or fentanyl
Chronic pain and treatment - answer✔Chronic:
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- Acute pain progresses to chronic when >3months
- Nociceptive: somatic or visceral
- Neuropathic: damage to nociceptive pathway (tumours/spinal cord compression/phantom
pain)
-Idiopathic: Unexplained (spinal, musculoskeletal (fibromyalgia), headache (migraines))
Neuropathic Pain - answer✔- Damage to nociceptive pathway
- Tumour related; spinal cord compression; phantom pain; 'pins and needles'; tingling;
allodynia; sudomotor dysfunction
Nociceptive pain: - answer✔Somatic
Superficial: no ANS effects; burning/stinging.
Deep: bones/muscle aches; dull ache; may have ANS effect
Visceral:
Deep tumours; dull and deep pain; nausea, vomiting
Idiopathic pain - answer✔Unexplainable:
Typically a manifestation of muscle aches or migraines:
fibromyalgia; migraines; IBS; myofascial pain
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Mu opioid receptors - answer✔Important for pain.
Agonists:
- beta-endorphins (endogenous)
- morphine
- codeine
- heroin
- methadone
- fentanyl
Can form homo or heterodimers, altering pharmacological properties & causing response
diversity
mu, delta, kappa receptors - answer✔GPCRs:
Gi/o proteins
Gi-alpha:
1. Adenylyl cyclase reduced
2. cAMP reduced
3. Ca2+ reduced
beta-gamma:
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