Inflammation 2 Flashcards
What is the lifespan of mediators of inflammation?
Very short and only produced as long as the stimulus persists
How long do neutrophils survive outride of a blood vessel?
A couple of hours
After acute inflammation what is the body response dependent on?
Site of injury (different organs have different capacity for repair and different vascular supplies), type of injury (severity and pathogenicity of organism) and duration of injuring (can it be removed/sustained)
What 4 processes can occur after acute inflammation?
Resolution, suppuration, repair/organisation/fibrosis and chronic inflammation
What is the best thing to happen directly after acute inflammation?
Resolution
What is resolution?
Complete restoration of the tissue to normal after removal of inflammatory components - minimal cell death
What favours resolution?
Tissues with good capacity to repair (eg GI tract), good vascular supply (for delivery of white cells and rapid removal of injurious agents) and injurious agents that are easy to remove
What is suppuration?
Pus (containing living, dying and dead cells, neutrophils, bacteria and fibrin) often called an abscess.
What is an empyema?
When a space is filled by pus and walled off
Why does pus need to be drained?
Antibiotics can’t reach their target as they move through blood supply which may be blocked by an abscess
When is organisation more likely?
If the injury produces lots of necrosis or fibrin that isn’t easily cleared, poor blood supply and tissue type. When damage goes deeper than the basement membrane
What is fibrin?
Inflammatory debris
What is organisation?
The replacement of damaged tissue by granulated tissue
What do erosion and abrasion describe?
Injury with the basement membrane intact - can heal rapidly with complete resolution
