Pain is the most common symptom when sickness occurs. The treatment of any illness is directed towards both the cure of underlying pathology and the decrease of suffering. Every health care provider should be familiar with pain medicine. In the last decade, an overwhelming amount has been added to our knowledge of pain and its management. By contrast with the textbooks on this complex subject, A Guide to Pain Medicine is intended to be a convenient practical reference. It provides up-to-date information on specific topics of frequent relevance to the work of the general practitioner. The book is designed for clear presentation of the pertinent facts and recent advances on pain medicine. As such, it also serves as a primer for more comprehensive study. The reader is encouraged to bring the book to the clinic and ward for reading and reference. In this way a firm foundation for pain medicine could be acquired.