Nausea and vomiting

Despite the fact that research in the mechanism of vomiting goes back more than 300 years, there are still major gaps in our knowledge. The first report of the clinical use of an antineoplastic drug was published in 1942, but it was not until cisplatin, the most emetogenic of all drugs, was approved in 1978, the necessity of focusing on antiemetic research became evident. This chapter will focus on the biological basis of nausea and vomiting from the time of the very simple animal experiments, suggesting the existence of a vomiting center, to current research methodology enabling precise subdivision of receptors involved in the emetic reflex arch.