Pain felt in a site in the body different from the diseased or injured location where the pain would be expected.
Pain perceived as coming from an area remote from its actual origin, such as the arm, elbow, or wrist pain felt in angina pectoris, or pain above the clavicle that is common in diaphragmatic pleurisy.
Pain felt at a site in the body different from the diseased or injured part where the pain is expected. Angina pectoris, resulting from coronary artery insufficiency, often occurs in the left shoulder, and pain from gallbladder disease is frequently felt in the right shoulder area.
Discomfort that is felt in a different location than where it originates.
Pain felt in a part of the body other than its original source. Referred pain occurs because at times different parts of the body are supplied by the same nerve or nerve root. When nerve impulses reach the brain, they are misinterpreted as coming from the other area.
Pain felt in a part of the body other than where it might be expected. An abscess beneath the diaphragm, for example, may cause a referred pain in the shoulder area, while heart disorders may cause pain in the left arm and fingers. The confusion arises because sensory nerves from different parts of the body share common pathways when they reach the spinal cord.
Pain felt in one part of the body which is actually arising from a distant site (e.g. pain from the diaphragm is felt at the shoulder tip). This occurs because both sites develop from similar embryological tissue and therefore have common pain pathways in the central nervous system.
Pain that arises in one body part or location but is perceived in another. For example, pain caused by inflammation of the diaphragm often is felt in the shoulder; pain caused by myocardial ischemia may be referred to the neck or jaw; and pain caused by appendicitis may first be felt near the umbilicus rather than in the right lower quadrant, where the appendix lies.
Referred pain manifests as discomfort localized in a specific body region while originating from a different organ or area. This occurs due to the interconnectedness of nerves, where the damaged organ’s nerve pathways converge with those supplying the region where the pain is perceived, entering the spinal cord through the same segment.
Pain experienced in a location different from the actual affected body part. This type of pain arises when the brain misinterprets the true origin of the pain signals. For instance, pain in the left shoulder or arm can be related to angina pectoris (chest pain resulting from inadequate blood flow to the heart muscle), and sciatica refers to pain that spreads along the sciatic nerve in the leg.
Discomfort experienced in a certain body area that is distant from its source. Referred pain emerges due to the overlap of nerve pathways serving both remote body regions. On occasions, nerve signals reaching the brain from one of these regions might be mistakenly perceived as originating from a different location.
Frequent instances of referred pain include sciatica and the discomfort along the inner left arm triggered by angina pectoris (chest pain resulting from reduced blood flow to the heart muscle) or a myocardial infarction (heart attack).