鎮痛

• Reading: ちんつう
• Romaji: chintsuu
• Kanji breakdown: 鎮 (chin) — calm, suppress, quell; 痛 (tsuu) — pain, ache
• Pronunciation: /tɕiɴ.tsɯː/

Meaning

Pain relief; analgesia. The suppression or alleviation of pain, typically through medication or treatment.

A noun used as a modifier in medical compounds such as 鎮痛薬 (analgesic/painkiller), 鎮痛作用 (analgesic effect), and 鎮痛剤 (pain-relief drug). While 鎮痛 alone is a noun, it almost always appears as part of a compound in clinical contexts. Distinct from 麻酔 (anaesthesia), which implies loss of sensation or consciousness.

Examples

1. 手術後の患者には、鎮痛薬が定期的に投与された。 The post-surgical patient was given pain relievers at regular intervals.
2. この薬には鎮痛作用のほか、炎症を抑える効果もある。 This medication has anti-inflammatory effects in addition to its pain-relieving properties.
3. 鎮痛目的でモルヒネを使用する際は、慎重な用量管理が必要だ。 When using morphine for pain relief, careful dosage management is required.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, pain management, pharmacology, surgery, palliative care

Tone: clinical, technical

Origin & History

Sino-Japanese compound: 鎮 (chin) means to calm, suppress, or quell, and 痛 (tsuu) means pain or ache. Together they describe the act of suppressing pain. The term has been used in Chinese pharmacology and entered standard Japanese medical vocabulary.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical-Modern

Generation: Adult

Social background: Universal