What is referred pain? Give an example and describe why it occurs.
a) Referred pain is pain perceived at a location distant from the site of tissue damage or nociceptor activation. An example is pain in the left arm during a heart attack, which occurs due to shared neural pathways between the heart and the arm.
b) Referred pain is pain perceived simultaneously at multiple locations across the body. An example is the pain experienced during fibromyalgia, which occurs due to widespread dysfunction in pain processing pathways.
c) Referred pain is pain perceived as originating from a specific organ or structure, despite the absence of tissue damage or nociceptor activation. An example is headache pain, which occurs due to increased sensitivity of pain-sensitive structures in the brain.
d) Referred pain is pain perceived as originating from the skin or superficial tissues, despite the actual source of pain being deeper structures. An example is phantom limb pain, which occurs due to persistent neural activity in the absence of peripheral input.
