The role of the dorsal root ganglion in the development of neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND: The dorsal root ganglion (DRG), in the not too distant past, had been thought of as a passive organ not involved in the development of abnormal aberrent neuropathic pain (NP), but merely metabolically "supporting" physiologic functions between the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS). New information regarding metabolic change within the DRG has dispelled this supportive passive role and suggests that the DRG is an active, not a passive, organ, in the process of the development of chronic pain. METHODS: A review of the anatomic and physiologic literature utilizing PubMed and Google Scholar was performed to create a review of the anatomic and physiologic foundations for the development of NP after peripheral afferent fiber injury. CONCLUSIONS: The DRG is as involved in the process of generating NP as is the nociceptor and the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.