• Blends an integrated multidisciplinary approach with case studies to create a unique learning experience.
• Extensive learning features, including activities, chapter summaries, learning outcomes, in-text and self-assessment questions, Explanation and Enrichment boxes, references and further reading, offer full support for learning, making this the ideal resource for any student, regardless of prior scientific knowledge.
• Custom-developed multimedia content, on the associated DVD, enriches the learning process still further, helping you to get even more out of the resource.
• Online Resource Centre features additional materials for both lecturers and students, enhancing the book's value as a teaching and learning tool.

Readership: Undergraduates studying biomedical science, human biology, and health science, particularly those with an interest in public health. Also a valuable reference for health professionals requiring a straightforward introduction to the subject.

Edited by Frederick Toates, Open University

1: Pain: a global health problem
1.1 A sensory and emotional experience
1.2 A psychobiological approach to pain
1.3 Measuring pain
2: Describing and classifying pain
2.1 The time factor
2.2 The range of uses of the term 'pain'
2.3 A fundamental distinction
3: How to explain pain: The basic principles
3.1 Pain, evolution and the human zoo
3.2 The nature of pain
3.3 Interacting factors underlying pain
3.4 The link between stimuli and pain
3.5 Sociocultural, religious and gender factors
3.6 The role of the brain
3.7 The study of mind and consciousness
4: How the body works
4.1 Body systems
4.2 Cells
4.3 Homeostasis
4.4 The endocrine system
5: The nervous system
5.1 Nerves, neurons and axons
5.2 Types of neuron
5.3 The role of neurons
5.4 How neurons perform their role?
5.5 Synapses
5.6 Some details of the brain
5.7 The somatic and autonomic nervous systems
6: A focus on pain and the nervous system
6.1 The periphery
6.2 The spinal cord
6.3 The brain
6.4 Anomalies of pain
6.5 Relating nociceptive pain to psychogenic pain
7: Treating pain
7.1 Chemical interventions
7.2 Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
7.3 Surgical intervention
7.4 Psychological intervention
8: Placebo effects
8.1 Explaining the placebo effect
8.2 The psychobiology of the placebo effect
8.3 Implications of the placebo effect
9: Final word
9.1 A challenging puzzle
9.2 Revelance of the meaning of 'psychological' and 'psychogenic'
9.3 Practical implications