Review
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 28, 2014; 20(4): 1005-1020
Published online Jan 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i4.1005
Neuroanatomy of lower gastrointestinal pain disorders
Wim Vermeulen, Joris G De Man, Paul A Pelckmans, Benedicte Y De Winter
Wim Vermeulen, Joris G De Man, Paul A Pelckmans, Benedicte Y De Winter, Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Paul A Pelckmans, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Antwerp, Belgium
Author contributions: Vermeulen W reviewed the literature, designed and wrote the manuscript; De Man JG, Pelckmans PA and De Winter BY revised the manuscript critically and approved the final version.
Correspondence to: Benedicte Y De Winter, MD, PhD, Executive Director, Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium. benedicte.dewinter@uantwerpen.be
Telephone: +32-3-2652710 Fax: +32-3-2652567
Received: September 18, 2013
Revised: December 11, 2013
Accepted: January 6, 2014
Published online: January 28, 2014
Processing time: 130 Days and 19.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: This review reports on the neuroanatomy of gastrointestinal pain disorders. The encoding and conveying of information from the gastrointestinal wall to the central nervous system is described with emphasis on the peripheral level, the spinal cord and the higher brain centers. Besides the basic principles of visceral hypersensitivity are reviewed taking into consideration peripheral sensitization (and the main mediators involved) and central wind-up phenomena in order to better understand the mechanisms involved in chronic abdominal pain in inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome patients.