Anoxious stimulus is astimulus strong enough to threaten the body's integrity (i.e. cause damage totissue). Noxious stimulation induces peripheralafferents responsible fortransducing pain (includingA-delta andC- nerve fibers, as well asfree nerve endings) throughout thenervous system of an organism.
The ability to perceive noxious stimuli is a prerequisite fornociception, which itself is a prerequisite fornociceptive pain.[1] A noxious stimulus has been seen to drivenocifensive behavioral responses, which are responses to noxious or painful stimuli. These includereflexive,escape behaviors, to avoid harm to an organism's body.
Because of rare genetic conditions that inhibit the ability to perceive physical pain, such ascongenital insensitivity to pain and anhydrosis (CIPA), noxious stimulation does not invariably lead to tissue damage.[1]
Noxious stimuli can either bemechanical (e.g.pinching or other tissuedeformation),chemical (e.g. exposure toacid orirritant), orthermal (e.g. high or lowtemperatures).
There are some types of tissue damage that are not detected by anysensory receptors, and thus cannot cause pain. Therefore, not all noxious stimuli are adequate stimuli ofnociceptors. The adequate stimuli of nociceptors are termednociceptive stimuli.