Pain fibers: Axons of pain sensitive nerve
cells.
Pain
generator: Abnormal tissue or joint responsible for
the pain that affects a larger area.
Parasympathetic
nerves: Part of the automic nervous system.
Pars
interarticularis: The part of a vertebra between
the lamina and the superior facet, this may be abnormal in
the condition called spondyloysis.
PCA
(patient controlled analgesia): Method of pain treatment
after surgery that allows the patient to self-administer pain
medication under a controlled regimen.
Pedicle:
Portion of the vertebra that connects the lamina (posterior
part of the vertebra) to the body anteriorly and helps forms
the walls of the spinal canal.
Pedicle
screws: Fixation screws that are placed through the
pedicle of the vertebra.
Peptides:
Small proteins.
Percutaneous:
Procedure done through a puncture in the skin, typically by
a needle or through a very narrow cannula.
Perineum:
The skin and tissues between the legs.
Periosteum:
The lining of the bone. it has sensation and it helps control
the shape and growth of bone.
Peripheral
nerves: The nerves after the departure from the spinal
canal, proceeding out to their end point in the skin and muscles.
Periphery:
The parts of the body furthest away from the spinal cord and
brain.
Peritoneum:
The internal lining of the abdominal cavity.
Personeal
nerve: A nerve that commences just above the knee,
passes along the lateral aspect of the lower leg and helps
activate muscles that lift the foot.
Phased-array
coils: Equipment used in MRI scanning to improve
the signal to noise or image quality of the MRI scan.
Pilates:
An exercise based treatment for the spine and for overall
body maintenance.
Pinched
nerve: Entrapment or mechanical pressure affectin
a nerve.
Piriformis
muscle: A muscle that runs from the sacrum to the
top of the femur, that can cause buttock pain and entrap the
sciatic nerve.
Placebo:
A pill that carries no actual medicine.
Placebo
effect: Improvement of a condition experienced by
a patient who believes a treatment has been administered even
if the treatment was not actually done.
Plantarflexion:
Bending the ankle to move the toes downwards.
Plasticity:
It is adaptation of the nervous system to new connection patterns.
Pleural
lining: A thin lining of the lungs.
Pneumonia:
An infection of the lungs.
Point
of Service (POS) insurance: A plan in which the patient
can enter either an HMO plan, a PPO (a preferred provider)
or a non-contracted plan depending on how they commenced care
for any fiven condition they experience.
Point
based treatments: Acupuncture or acupressure for
a nonsurgical treatment of back pain.
Polymers:
Complex molecules with many individual parts, typically such
as plastics or other complex absorbable molecules used in
surgical treatment and implants.
Posterior:
Towards the back of.
Posterior
longitudinal ligament: A ligament behind the vertebral
bodies and anterior to the spinal dura and spinal cord.
Posterior-anterior
X-rays: Images obtained with the X-ray source in
front of the spine and the film behind the spine.
Posterolateral
fusion: A lumbar fusio done from a posterior approach
and incorporating the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae.
PPO
(preferred provider organization): Type of health
insurance in which patients may choose form a physician from
a list of providers who have agreed to offer care at a discount.
Prognosis:
Expectation of the outcome of treatment.
Preemptive
anesthesia: The administration of pain medication
before surgery in an attempt to prevent the pain from becoming
intense as the surgery progresses.
Prophylatic:
Something administered to prevent the development of a problem
such as antibiotics given to prevent the possibility of an
infection.
Prospective
cooperative study: Test to evaluate the efficacy
of a treatment , typically done by determining the clinical
plan before any of the patients commence treatment and involving
many different hospitals.
Provocative
discogram: A test to evaluate whether and intervertebral
disc is a pain generator. Fluid is injected into the disc
to learn whether the resulting pain is similar to the patient's
usual pain.
Pseudoarthrosis:
Literally "false joint" - a painful contact between
two bones that develops at the site of a failed fusion.
Pus:
A reactive material produced in an infection by the accumulation
of the body's white cells attempting to digest bacteria.
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