Question 4
Build a medical term that means "nerve pain."

Answer and Explanation:

Neuralgia is the definitive term for nerve pain. Words ending in -algia indicate pain.

A closely related word is neuropathy. It indicates an injury, disease, deterioration, defect or other abnormality of the nerve, which usually produces pain, possibly stabbing, burning, or tingling in character.

The two words are close but not interchangeable; still, many people substitute one for the other. Nerve pain, bone pain and muscle pain are not the same, even though they may happen at the same time and in the same general location in some people.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a sharp, shooting pain involving the trigeminal nerve in the cheek and side of the face; and post-herpetic neuralgia is an excruciating pain that can occur after someone has had shingles sores caused by the herpes zoster virus.

Peripheral neuropathy also involves shooting, burning pain, tingling and numbness in the legs, for example, due to damage to the nerves from diabetes.

So both words refer to “nerve pain,” either pain in/along a nerve’s distribution (dermatome), or a nerve abnormality that causes pain. But for this question, I think “neuralgia” is more accurate.

You could say that neuropathic symptoms are a form of neuralgia.