The History of Pain

This text draws on multidisciplinary sources to explore the universally shared experience of pain.

From classical antiquity to the 20th century, it contrasts the different cultural perceptions of pain in each period, as well as the medical theories advanced to explain its mechanisms and the various therapeutic remedies formulated to relieve those suffering from it.

This broad historical perspective highlights the transformation in humanity's relationship to pain, chronicles the progress made in its understanding and treatment and explores the little-understood areas that remain to this day.