The minimum amount of stimulus energy necessary to elicit a sensory response.

The sensation of cold, heat, coolness, and warmth as detected by THERMORECEPTORS.

The process in which specialized SENSORY RECEPTOR CELLS transduce peripheral stimuli (physical or chemical) into NERVE IMPULSES which are then transmitted to the various sensory centers in the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.

Amount of stimulation required before the sensation of pain is experienced.

Sensation of making physical contact with objects, animate or inanimate. Tactile stimuli are detected by MECHANORECEPTORS in the skin and mucous membranes.

A continuing periodic change in displacement with respect to a fixed reference. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

Failure of voluntary control of the anal sphincters, with involuntary passage of feces and flatus.

Diseases of the peripheral nerves external to the brain and spinal cord, which includes diseases of the nerve roots, ganglia, plexi, autonomic nerves, sensory nerves, and motor nerves.

A type of stress exerted uniformly in all directions. Its measure is the force exerted per unit area. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

Measurement of the pressure or tension of liquids or gases with a manometer.

Scales, questionnaires, tests, and other methods used to assess pain severity and duration in patients or experimental animals to aid in diagnosis, therapy, and physiological studies.

An unpleasant sensation induced by noxious stimuli which are detected by NERVE ENDINGS of NOCICEPTIVE NEURONS.

Presence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably higher than an accustomed norm.

The smallest difference which can be discriminated between two stimuli or one which is barely above the threshold.

The audibility limit of discriminating sound intensity and pitch.

Financial assistance to impoverished persons for the essentials of living through federal, state or local government programs.

Works containing information articles on subjects in every field of knowledge, usually arranged in alphabetical order, or a similar work limited to a special field or subject. (From The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Theoretical construct used in applied mathematics to analyze certain situations in which there is an interplay between parties that may have similar, opposed, or mixed interests. In a typical game, decision-making "players," who each have their own goals, try to gain advantage over the other parties by anticipating each other's decisions; the game is finally resolved as a consequence of the players' decisions.

Consideration and concern for others, as opposed to self-love or egoism, which can be a motivating influence.

A dental specialty concerned with the prevention of disease and the maintenance of oral health through promoting organized dental health programs at a community, state, or federal level.

Organized institutions which provide services to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community.