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Definition of Referred pain
Medically reviewed by Min Clinic Staff | Updated: January 2026
Referred pain: Pain felt at a site other than where the cause is situated. An example is the pain from the pancreas, which is felt in the back. Pain in internal organs is often referred to sites distant from them. Mechanisms of referred pain are complex, and are related to innervations of organs by afferent pain fibers which following similar paths as the sympathetic nervous system.