[What is gallstone pain?].

This paper reviews our current understanding of the clinical symptoms and pain mechanisms in patients with gallstone disease. Although most patients have classical pain attacks, the pain localisation can be atypical due to convergence phenomena between somatic and visceral afferents. Furthermore, central neuroplastic changes induced by the recurrent pain attacks are probably of major importance for our understanding of the clinical symptoms. Finally, recommendations for pharmacological treatment of the pain are provided.