---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pain is a Medical Orphan. Perhaps because…"
description: "\"“Pain is a Medical Orphan. Perhaps because it has traditionally been considered the consequence of disease or injury, not an illness in itself, and not..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/henry-jay-przybylo-110787_anesthesia_pain-is-a-medical-orphan-perhaps-because_813524.jpg"
---

#  Pain is a Medical Orphan. Perhaps because it has…

![“Pain is a Medical Orphan. Perhaps because it has traditionally been considered the consequence of disease or injury, not an illness in itself, and not specific to a body organ or site, no single specialty has accepted, as a pressing goal or major responsibility, a commitment to the elimination of…” quote by Henry Jay Przybylo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/henry-jay-przybylo-110787_anesthesia_pain-is-a-medical-orphan-perhaps-because_813524.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/henry-jay-przybylo-110787_anesthesia_pain-is-a-medical-orphan-perhaps-because_813524.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/henry-jay-przybylo-110787_anesthesia_pain-is-a-medical-orphan-perhaps-because_813524.jpg)

> ““Pain is a Medical Orphan. Perhaps because it has traditionally been considered the consequence of disease or injury, not an illness in itself, and not specific to a body organ or site, no single specialty has accepted, as a pressing goal or major responsibility, a commitment to the elimination of pain. Perhaps there’s a little too much “man up” sentiment out there, embracing the words of Nietzsche: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.””

Henry Jay Przybylo

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes pain as a neglected medical field lacking dedicated focus, criticizing cultural attitudes that glorify endurance over treatment.

**In simple terms:** Pain is often ignored as a medical specialty.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for dedicated pain research and treatment.

Themes

Medicine pain management health policy advocacy cultural attitudes

Mood

critical empathetic

Type

academic advocacy

When to use this quote

- clinical research funding
- policy advocacy
- patient education

Key Concepts

Medical orphan status pain research healthcare priorities patient advocacy

Questions to Reflect On

- Why is pain considered less worthy of study?
- How can we shift cultural views on pain?

A Different Perspective

Changing entrenched attitudes may be slow.

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[Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/)

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> [I find the pain of a little censure, even when it is unfounded, is more acute than the pleasure of much praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-find-the-pain-of-a-little-censure-even-when-it-is-unfounded-is-more/)

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[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [“I thought to myself: 'Is the pain a little less than when I went away?' and tried to persuade myself that it was so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-thought-to-myself-is-the-pain-a-little-less-than-when-i-went-away/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [I don't know where the idea originated that memoir writing is cathartic. For me, it's always felt like playing my own neurosurgeon, sans anesthesia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koren-zailckas/i-don-t-know-where-the-idea-originated-that-memoir-writing-is/)

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> [“I asked her, dreamily, if we had met, and when she told me that we had not, I gave her a little finger wave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-asked-her-dreamily-if-we-had-met-and-when-she-told-me-that-we-had/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [Everyone agrees that animals should not be exposed to unnecessary pain. But neither should scientists be hamstrung by the requirement to use anesthesia in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/everyone-agrees-that-animals-should-not-be-exposed-to-unnecessary/)

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> [People don't become inured to what they are shown - if that's the right way to describe what happens - because of the quantity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/people-don-t-become-inured-to-what-they-are-shown-if-that-s-the-right/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [“When Dr. James Young Simpson sought to apply anesthesia to a woman in childbirth, the clergymen of his day foamed at the mouth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lewis/when-dr-james-young-simpson-sought-to-apply-anesthesia-to-a-woman-in/)

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> [I used to like the anesthesia. It was like my favorite part of the whole thing, the 10 seconds before you go out. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-iaquinta/i-used-to-like-the-anesthesia-it-was-like-my-favorite-part-of-the/)

[Al Iaquinta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-iaquinta/)

> [“Shaw also said, alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-finn/shaw-also-said-alcohol-is-the-anesthesia-by-which-we-endure-the/)

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## More by Henry Jay Przybylo

> [“Adult urologists have plenty of nicknames, from “dick docs” to “stream team” to “prick plumbers”; my favorite is “wee-wee whackers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jay-przybylo/adult-urologists-have-plenty-of-nicknames-from-dick-docs-to-stream/)

Henry Jay Przybylo

Explore all 2 Henry Jay Przybylo quotes

## More Anesthesia quotes

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Browse all 55 Anesthesia quotes

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