Acute inflammation Flashcards
What are the five clinical signs of acute inflammation?
Redness, swelling, heat, pain and loss of function.
What can cause acute inflammation?
Foreign bodies, tissue necrosis, physical or chemical agents, trauma, infections and immune reactions.
What happens to blood vessels in acute inflammation?
Initially they constrict, but then they dilate so that there is increased perfusion to the tissue.
What vascular changes occur in acute inflammation?
The blood vessels increase in permeability, and so there is exudate on of fluid.
What are the consequences of swelling and exudate on of fluid?
Leads to slowing of the circulation, increased RBC concentration and increased blood viscosity.
What chemical is a key player at the beginning of acute inflammation? What does it cause?
Histamine. It causes pain, arteriolar dilation and venular leakage.
In what cells is histamine found?
Mast cells, basophils and platelets
What stimuli can lead to histamine release?
Physical damage, immune reactions and complement components.
What is the difference between serotonin and histamine?
They have similar properties but serotonin also stimulates fibroblasts.
What are prostaglandins? What drug can block their production?
These are produced by membrane phospholipids and cause vasodilation. Aspirin blocks their production, reducing pain and swelling.
In normal conditions, what molecules leave capillaries?
Water and electrolytes
What is the main driving force of fluid back into the blood?
Colloidal osmotic pressure of plasma proteins.
What three factors cause the main flow of fluid to be out of vessels in acute inflammation?
The semi-permeable membranes have become leaky, the capillary pressure driving fluid out increases and the force driving fluid back into capillaries is reduced as proteins escape through tissue spaces.
State the three consequences of increased fluid moving out of blood vessels
Oedema, increased lymphatic drainage (presents antigens to immune system), delivery of plasma proteins such as fibrin
What is the difference between transudate and exudate?
Transudate has a low protein content whilst exudate has a high protein content.
What can cause to transudate oedema?
Heart failure.
What do bradykinin and complement components induce?
Vascular leakage.
What defensive proteins are found in exudate?
Opsonins, complement and antibodies
What is inflammation?
It is the response of living, vascularised tissue to injury.
What is the primary cell type associated with acute inflammation?
Neutrophils
What is chemotaxis?
It is directional movement towards a chemical attractant.
What can be a chemotaxin?
Leucocytes, clotted blood, bacterial products, injured cells.
What happens to a neutrophil when a chemotaxin binds?
Na and Ca flow into the cell, it swells and points towards stimulus. It switches to a higher metabolic rate and is activated.