Chronic Inflammation

Question 1

What is the purpose of inflammation?

Answer 1

• Protective response involving host cells, proteins and blood vessels
• Remove the cause of injury
• Remove necrosis
• Initiate repair

Question 2

Describe basic acute inflammation

Answer 2

• Fast onset
• Initial reaction to injury
• Prominent signs
• Mild, self-limiting tissue injury
• Neutrophils

Question 3

Describe basic chronic inflammation

Answer 3

• slow onset
• subtle signs
• Macrophages & lymphocytes, plasma cells
• Gruanulation & scar tissue
• Severe & progressive

Question 4

What are the possible outcomes of acute inflammation?

Answer 4

• Resolution
• Supporation (abscess formation)
• Organisation
• Chronic inflammation

Question 5

What are endogenous & exogenous materials?

Answer 5

Endo= Internal origin: necrotic adipose tissue, uric acid crystals

Exo= external origin: asbestos fibres, sutures

Question 6

How can acute inflammation become chronic?

Answer 6

• Most common= supporation
• Pus becomes an abscess
• Can cause walls to thicken
• Recurrent acute can lead to chronic (cholecystitis)

Question 7

Define caseating

Answer 7

Necrosis with conversion of damaged tissue into a soft substance

Question 8

Describe the function of macrophages in tissue damage

Answer 8

• Important in chronic inflammation
• stimulate immune system & inc inflammation
• Release cytokines which signal monocytes
• Monocytes in blood vessel become macrophages in tissue
• monocytes enter damage tissue from endothelium (recruitment)
• macrophages proliferate in damaged tissue
• immobilisation of macrophages within tissue

Question 9

What are the roles of macrophages?

Answer 9

• Phagocytosis of bacteria & damaged tissue
• Release proteases after they debride damaged tissue
• Stimulated by low O2 content to induce angiogenesis
• Induce cells to re-epithelialise the wound & create granulation tissue

Question 10

What are the steps/components of wound healing?

Answer 10

-Granulation tissue:
Angiogenesis
Fibroblasts deposit collagen
Inflammatory cells
-Grows from base of wound up

Question 11

How is chronic inflammation involved in disease?

Answer 11

• Response to MI= myocardial fibrosis
• Atheroma formation= macrophages adhere to epithelium & recruit other cells, lipids accumulate in plaques
• MS= plasma cells & T lymphocytes seen in white matter where macrophages break down myelin

Question 12

Give an example of persistent infection and what it can lead to (Clue-Stomach)

Answer 12

H Pylori & chronic peptic ulcer- perforation is life threatening