- Section 1 Historical
- Chapter 1 Local anaesthetic substitutes for cocaine
- Chapter 2 Innovative concepts in pain management
- Chapter 3 Explaining reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Chapter 4 The rediscovery of paracetamol
- Chapter 5 The pharmacology of placebos
- Chapter 6 Understanding the responsiveness of C-fibres
- Chapter 7 A new theory of pain
- Chapter 8 Three determinants of pain
- Chapter 9 Purinergic nerves
- Chapter 10 Genetic differences in opiate receptors
- Chapter 11 Endogenous opioids in placebo-induced analgesia
- Chapter 12 Ethical pain experimentation in conscious animals
- Chapter 13 Local anaesthetic creams
- Chapter 14 The back pain revolution
- Chapter 15 The mechanism of aspirin
- Chapter 16 Mechanisms of visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome
- Chapter 17 The effects of morphine on the CNS
- Chapter 18 Opioids in palliative care
- Chapter 19 Endogenous opioids in the CNS
- Chapter 20 Spinal opioid analgesia in the rat
- Section 2 Firsts
- Section 3 Science
- Section 4 Clinical
- Section 5 Mechanisms
- Section 6 Neuropathic
- Section 7 Psychosocial
- Section 8 Genetics
(p. 6) Innovative concepts in pain management
- Chapter:
- (p. 6) Innovative concepts in pain management
- Author(s):
Ben M. Thomas
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780198834359.003.0002
War, often the catalyst for technological advances, can also provide the substrate for medical advancement. Lieutenant Colonel Henry K. Beecher’s article published in the Annals of Surgery in 1946 is a seminal paper in many respects. This historical paper by Beecher uses heralding methodology to challenge the pre-existing dogma of morphine treatment of pain from battle trauma and to use direct and precise observations to critically appraise the then current management. In doing so, he not only demonstrated early application of the scientific method to a pain problem, but also identified innovative concepts in pain management, concepts whose importance would only later be fully appreciated.
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- Section 1 Historical
- Chapter 1 Local anaesthetic substitutes for cocaine
- Chapter 2 Innovative concepts in pain management
- Chapter 3 Explaining reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Chapter 4 The rediscovery of paracetamol
- Chapter 5 The pharmacology of placebos
- Chapter 6 Understanding the responsiveness of C-fibres
- Chapter 7 A new theory of pain
- Chapter 8 Three determinants of pain
- Chapter 9 Purinergic nerves
- Chapter 10 Genetic differences in opiate receptors
- Chapter 11 Endogenous opioids in placebo-induced analgesia
- Chapter 12 Ethical pain experimentation in conscious animals
- Chapter 13 Local anaesthetic creams
- Chapter 14 The back pain revolution
- Chapter 15 The mechanism of aspirin
- Chapter 16 Mechanisms of visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome
- Chapter 17 The effects of morphine on the CNS
- Chapter 18 Opioids in palliative care
- Chapter 19 Endogenous opioids in the CNS
- Chapter 20 Spinal opioid analgesia in the rat
- Section 2 Firsts
- Section 3 Science
- Section 4 Clinical
- Section 5 Mechanisms
- Section 6 Neuropathic
- Section 7 Psychosocial
- Section 8 Genetics