Final answer:
Referred pain is when a patient feels pain in a different area from where it originates. It occurs when strong visceral sensations are perceived as pain in another part of the body. This happens because the sensory fibers from the involved organ and the somatosensory fibers from the referred pain location enter the same level of the spinal cord.
Step-by-step explanation:
Referred pain is the type of pain that a patient complains of in a site that is different from where it originates. For example, a patient may feel pain in the left shoulder and arm as a sign of a heart attack. This phenomenon occurs because strong visceral sensations from one part of the body are perceived as pain in a different area. The most accepted explanation is that the sensory fibers from the organs and the somatosensory fibers from the referred pain location enter the same level of the spinal cord, causing the brain to misinterpret the sensations.