Nociceptors belong to Ad and C afferents that are equipped in the periphery with receptors for detecting potentially damaging physical and chemical stimuli. This review summarizes experimental evidence that these receptors represented by ionic channels are also functionally expressed on the cell bodies of sensory neurones in short-term cultures. The nociceptors belong predominantly to the small and medium size DRG neurones in which algogens such as weak acids, capsaicin, bradykinin and serotonin produce inward currents that can generate impulse activity. It seems likely that the neurones which are not sensitive to algogens but to GABA, ATP or glutamate, agents not producing pain in humans, belong to other categories of DRG neurones equipped for detecting other modalities of sensation. New techniques for physical stimulation of DRG neurones in culture may be of great help in the search for complementing the criteria for distinguishing nociceptors among other neurones in culture. It is suggested that such an in vitro model will be useful for studying cellular mechanisms of nociception.