Acute Inflammation Flashcards
State the cardinal signs of inflammation.
Pain Redness Swelling Heat Loss of function
List aetiologies of injury that can leas to acute inflammation.
- Pathogenic organisms (i.e bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites)
- Mechanical injury/trauma
- Chemicals (acid/alkali)
- Extreme physical conditions (heat, cold and ionising radiation)
- Dead tissue
- Hypersensitivity (undesirable reactions produced by the human immune system)
List the local effects of acute inflammation.
- Flush (due to capillary vasodilation)
- Flare (due to arteriolar vasodilation)
- Wheel (due to exudation)
State Poiseuille’s law
Flow is proportional to the radius^4
An increase in arteriolar radius results in
Increases local tissue blood flow which results in redness and heat.
State the benefits of acute inflammation.
- Rapid response to non-specific insult
- Cardinal signs and loss of function to protect site
- Neutrophils destroy pathogens and denature antigens for macrophages
- Plasma proteins localise process
- Resolution and return to normal
An increase in permeability results in
- Localised vascular response - microvascular bed
- Endothelial leak (fluid and protein not held in the lumen, due to imbalance in starling Starling Forces)
- Locally produces chemical mediators
State what is meant by the term ‘exudate’.
A mass of cells and fluid that has seeped OUT OF blood vessels or an organ into the surrounding tissues
Exudation causes
Swelling
Active hyperaemia causes
Redness and heat
State the two effect of exudation
- Oedema
- Stretching of nerve receptors, triggering a pain response
During flow in inflammation, the most important cell is
Neutrophil polymorphonuclear leukocyte
