This book was prepared by the IASP Task Force on Acute Pain to provide leadership in areas of clinical care, teaching, and research related to a variety of forms of acute pain which remain universal and major health care problems. This publication includes adult and pediatric postoperative pain, acute cancer pain, trauma and burn pain, obstetric pain, and acutely painful medical conditions (cardiac pain, acute herpes zoster, acute sickle cell crisis, acute myofascial pain, acute abdominal pain).