ABSTRACT
Humans experience a range of sensations arising from the abdominal viscera. Nonpainful sensations such as a feeling of satiety, gas, and the urge to defecate are part of everyday life. The stimuli that evoke these sensations are limited to a few organs in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and occur with little concern by the individual. In contrast, the perception of pain arising from noxious stimulation of the viscera, for example, cramps due to acute noxious stimuli or hyperalgesia coincident with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), can have a profound effect on an individual’s quality of life. An understanding of the mechanisms underlying spinal processing of acute and chronic visceral stimuli is essential to develop further therapies for the treatment of visceral pain.
