Evolution of pain medicine in Pakistan.

Although the need of adequate pain alleviation has always been felt, but the transition from immersion of body parts in ice cold water to the introduction of opium and then morphine took a long time. Over the previous few decades, the pain medicine emerged as a subspecialty of anesthesiology, but very soon it evolved itself as a whole new specialty, and with it emerged the need of clinical training. Now, most of the countries run their very own training programs, and in most of the nice hospitals pain medicine departments have been established. This editorial tales a quick look at its development around the world and particularly in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]