Chronic pain management: the role of the anaesthetist

World-wide more than 4 million people are at present suffering from cancer pain, and many more from other kinds of pain. Pain remains an under-treated and neglected public health problem. Lately technological advances and greater understanding of the physiology and anatomy of pain have helped further progress in pain management but much is still empirical without a scientific basis. Since the fundamental component of the practice of anaesthesiology in the treatment of pain, the anaesthetist is the best person to understand pain and organize pain clinics.