The potential benefit of local anaesthetics during routine ovariohysterectomy

Woolf (2011) defined the three types of pain as: neurological, this stems from the nervous system because of abnormal function; nociceptive, this is a result of a noxious stimulus damaging the...

A multimodal approach to hindlimb surgical analgesia: femoral and sciatic nerve blocks

In a recent review, Hunt et al (2015) provided an overview of analgesia prescription in veterinary practice by use of questionnaire; they concluded that there has been a marked increase in...

Analgesia in veterinary patients — opioids part one

In the UK, opioids are classified as ‘controlled drugs’ due to their propensity for abuse. This means that the purchase, storage and use of opioids are legally regulated. The degree of regulation is...

Understanding the mechanisms behind acute pain in dogs and cats

Nociception is the process by which a signal caused by a noxious stimulus is communicated from the site of tissue injury to the brain (Farquhar-Smith, 2008). There are four basic steps involved in...

Pain management in critically ill patients

There is a growing body of evidence in human medicine regarding pain management in critically ill people, and this supports the notion that effective pain management in humans decreases morbidity and...