ABSTRACT
From a physiological perspective, pain can be thought of as ‘a type of signalling device for drawing attention to tissue damage or to physiological
malfunction’.2 Pain arises when a nerve or nerve ending is affected by a noxious stimulus, either from within the body or from outside it. It is therefore of crucial importance for the protection and survival of the body in an environment full of potential dangers. Because of this biological role it is sometimes assumed that pain is culture-free, in the sense of there being a universal biological reaction to a specific type of stimulus such as a sharp object or extremes of hot or cold. However, the two forms of reaction can be differentiated into:
1 An involuntary, instinctual reaction, such as pulling away from the sharp object
2 A voluntary reaction, such as a removing the source of pain, and taking
action to treat the symptom (by taking an aspirin, for example)
b asking another person for help in relieving the symptom.
