Women appear to have a greater density of nerve receptors than men, suggesting that they are constitutionally more sensitive to pain, researchers here reported. Women averaged double the number of receptors compared with men in a certain area of facial skin, according to a study conducted by Bradon J. Wilhelmi, M.D., and colleagues at the Plastic Surgery Institute of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. If the results of this study are confirmed, it could represent a physiological explanation for previous reports that women have higher pain perception and lower pain tolerance compared with men, the researchers reported in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
