27 十月, 2005
from: http://slashdotcn.org/article.php/20051026012603576
十月发布的Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery中一份报告指出已找到对疼痛女性比男性显得更为敏感的原因：女性每平方厘米的面部皮肤拥有34个神经元，而男性却只有17个；此项研究表明在外科整形手术中应该为女性采取特殊的手术方法及药物剂量，以减小她们的痛苦。
报告摘要如下：
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 116(5):1407-1410, October 2005.
Mowlavi, Arian M.D.; Cooney, Damon M.D.; Febus, Lori R.T.(R.); Khosraviani, Ava B.A.; Wilhelmi, Bradon J. M.D.; Akers, Gregory M.D.
Abstract:
Background: The control of pain is critical to performing surgery. All
surgical procedures cause some degree of pain, and the ability to
minimize pain often affects a patient's perception of surgical outcome.
Although the development of surgery was boosted by the advent of
anesthesia, inadequate pain control continues to plague modern
medicine. The mechanism of pain induction is an important area of
research in the health care industry. To date, few studies have
demonstrated increased perception of pain and lower tolerance for pain
in female patients when compared with male patients. The authors
hypothesized about whether these differences were related to increased
density of nerve fibers in female as compared with male patients.
Methods: The density of nerve fibers at a specific location (the skin directly overlying the infraorbital nerve foramen) was measured to test this hypothesis. Twenty cadaver skin specimens (1 cm2) were harvested, prepared using immunohistochemistry (S-100 polyclonal antibody), and counted using 45x high-powered microscopy.
Results: Female specimens (n = 10) demonstrated increased nerve fiber density (34 +/- 19 fibers/cm2 skin) when compared with male specimens (n = 10; 17 +/- 8 fibers/cm2 skin; p = 0.038).
Conclusion: Although preliminary and limited in scope, these findings favor a physical (organic) rather than a psychosocial explanation for more pronounced pain perception in female patients.
(C)2005American Society of Plastic Surgeons
