Inflammation Flashcards
What was the first description of inflammation?
“Redness and swelling with heat and pain”
What are the five cardinal signs of inflammation?
Redness
Swelling
Heat
Pain
Loss of function
What is an exogenous inflammation?
Inflammation from within
What is an exogenous inflammation?
Inflammation from outside
Give an example of an endotoxin.
Lipopolysaccharide
How dangerous is lipopolysaccharide?
It can kill you in 12 hours
In relation to inflammation, what is an allergy?
An inappropriate inflammation
What are the six triggers of inflammation?
Infections
Trauma
Physical and chemical agents
Tissue necrosis
Foreign bodies
Immune reactions
Give three examples of inflammatory chemicals.
Histamine
Serotonin
Cytokines
What five things do inflammatory chemicals do?
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
What does histamine do?
vasodilation – blood slows down – allows fluid to move out into tissue – allows white blood cells to move out into tissue
What do mast cells do?
They produce histamine
Respond to tissue damage or products of the immune system and release multiple factors including histamine
What cells cause inflammation?
Mast cells
Macrophages (and other WBC in tissue)
In relation to inflammation, what do macrophages do?
They produce cytokines in response to pathogens
What are the benefits of inflammation?
Isolation/immobilsation of the damaged area,
Mobilisation of effector cells and molecules to the site
Healing
What are the disadvantages of inflammation?
Allergy (e.g. hay fever)
Autoimmunity (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis)
Cytokine storm
What is extravasation?
When endothelial cells upregulate expression of “adhesion molecules” that allow white blood cells to stick and cross over into tissue
What does local inflammatory responses result in?
The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines like Interleukin 6 by macrophages
What does interleukin 6 do?
It induces the liver to synthesise acute phase proteins including complement components and C-reactive protein
What are positive acute phase reactants?
Proteins whose levels go up
What are negative acute phase reactants?
Proteins whose levels go down
What is a fever?
2
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
How does a fever help fight infection?
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
How can a fever be dangerous?
2
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
