title: The taxonomy of pain.
abstract: An ideal taxonomy should be comprehensive and its categories should be mutually exclusive. Every item should have a particular place either on its own or with other items that resemble it. This is rarely, if ever, achievable in practice in medicine. The reasons for this are explained. The taxonomy developed by the Task Force on Taxonomy of the International Association for the Study of Pain is described as well as the basis for it.
authors.affiliation: harold.merskey@sympatico.ca
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Merskey
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification*