Inflammation

Question 1

What was the first description of inflammation?

Answer 1

“Redness and swelling with heat and pain”

Question 2

What are the five cardinal signs of inflammation?

Answer 2

Redness

Swelling

Heat

Pain

Loss of function

Question 3

What is an exogenous inflammation?

Answer 3

Inflammation from within

Question 4

What is an exogenous inflammation?

Answer 4

Inflammation from outside

Question 5

Give an example of an endotoxin.

Answer 5

Lipopolysaccharide

Question 6

How dangerous is lipopolysaccharide?

Answer 6

It can kill you in 12 hours

Question 7

In relation to inflammation, what is an allergy?

Answer 7

An inappropriate inflammation

Question 8

What are the six triggers of inflammation?

Answer 8

Infections

Trauma

Physical and chemical agents

Tissue necrosis

Foreign bodies

Immune reactions

Question 9

Give three examples of inflammatory chemicals.

Answer 9

Histamine

Serotonin

Cytokines

Question 10

What five things do inflammatory chemicals do?

Answer 10

Cause an increase in white blood cell count

Cause an increase in capillary permeability

Cause local vasodilation

Cause the attraction of WBCs to the injury

Cause the activation of pain-sensitive neurons

Question 11

What does histamine do?

Answer 11

vasodilation – blood slows down – allows fluid to move out into tissue – allows white blood cells to move out into tissue

Question 12

What do mast cells do?

Answer 12

They produce histamine

Respond to tissue damage or products of the immune system and release multiple factors including histamine

Question 13

What cells cause inflammation?

Answer 13

Mast cells

Macrophages (and other WBC in tissue)

Question 14

In relation to inflammation, what do macrophages do?

Answer 14

They produce cytokines in response to pathogens

Question 15

What are the benefits of inflammation?

Answer 15

Isolation/immobilsation of the damaged area,

Mobilisation of effector cells and molecules to the site

Healing

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of inflammation?

Answer 16

Allergy (e.g. hay fever)

Autoimmunity (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis)

Cytokine storm

Question 17

What is extravasation?

Answer 17

When endothelial cells upregulate expression of “adhesion molecules” that allow white blood cells to stick and cross over into tissue

Question 18

What does local inflammatory responses result in?

Answer 18

The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines like Interleukin 6 by macrophages

Question 19

What does interleukin 6 do?

Answer 19

It induces the liver to synthesise acute phase proteins including complement components and C-reactive protein

Question 20

What are positive acute phase reactants?

Answer 20

Proteins whose levels go up

Question 21

What are negative acute phase reactants?

Answer 21

Proteins whose levels go down

Question 22

What is a fever?

2

Answer 22

A release of chemicals called pyrogens by WBCs in response to pathogen exposure

These pyrogens then act on the hypothalamus and bring about an increase in body temperature

Question 23

How does a fever help fight infection?

Answer 23

WBCs work faster due to an increased metabolism

Higher temperature can impair bacterial function

High temperature causes the liver and spleen to sequester zinc and iron which are essential for bacterial growth

Question 24

How can a fever be dangerous?

2

Answer 24

High, excessive fever in infants can cause febrile seizures but these do not damage the brain

In adults, sustained high fever can eventually cause brain damage