Library
APS Bulletin • Volume 18, Number 2, 2008
Resource Reviews
John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor
Understanding Pain
Reviewed by John D. Loeser, MD
Harry J. Gould, New York, Demos Medical Publishing for American Academy of Neurology, 2007. Soft cover, 152 pages, ISBN 978-1-932603-58-3, $21.95.
This is a concise text for the pain patient. It is written for a rather sophisticated audience and presupposes a vocabulary and comprehension skills that are above the abilities of many chronic pain sufferers. It covers the definition of pain, how to be a good patient during evaluation of your pain, the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, neuroanatomy relevant to pain, pharmacological and nonpharmacological management of pain, invasive therapies for pain, and the special needs of children and the elderly. A glossary, resources list, and index complete the text. For those with the cognitive skills to handle this slim text, it is a good, albeit brief, summary of contemporary thinking on these matters.
Dr. Loeser is Professor of Neurological Surgery and Anesthesiology at the University of Washington, Seattle.
