Chronic Inflammation and Healing

Question 1

What are the clinical manifestations on fever?

Answer 1

Local: redness, swelling, heat, pain and loss of function
Systemic: Pyrexia, leukocytosis, acute phase proteins and endocrine changes

Question 2

Which type of cell is predominant in chronic inflammation?

Answer 2

Macrophages

Question 3

What is an important feature that distinguishes chronic from acute inflammation?

Answer 3

Granuloma formation

Question 4

What is involved in cleaning up the mess caused by inflammation?

Answer 4

Macrophages attempt to remove mess
Repair process is initiated if mess is too great. Tissue then undergoes organisation where tissue is encouraged to grow. Once tissue contains many active fibroblasts and new blood vessels it is granulation tissue (fibrosis). Granulation tissue then becomes a fibrous scar (hinders remaining functional tissue)

Question 5

How is the damaged tissue rebuilt?

Answer 5

Regeneration: Stem cells regrow tissue (only really occurs in skin/gut)

Question 6

What are the two possible outcomes of chronic inflammation?

Answer 6

A fibrous scar (tissue's original function lost)
Complete resolution (function is normal)