Inflammation

Question 1

what is inflammation?

Answer 1

reaction of living vascularised tissue to sub-lethal cellular injury

Question 2

what is the function of inflammation?

Answer 2

to remove the cause of injury and initiate repair

Question 3

what are the 2 types of inflammation?

Answer 3

• acute (hours/days)

- chronic (weeks/months)

Question 4

what harmful effect can inflammation have?

Answer 4

can cause tissue destruction

Question 5

what causes inflammation?

Answer 5

• infection
• foreign body
• mechanical trauma
• chemical injury
• radiation injury

Question 6

what are the inflammatory reaction components?

Answer 6

• cells
• ECM
• soluble factors

Question 7

what are the cells involved in inflammation?

Answer 7

• neutrophils
• macrophages
• lymphocytes
• eosinophils
• mast cells

Question 8

what are the ECM components involved in inflammation?

Answer 8

• collagen
• proteoglycans
• fibroblasts

Question 9

what are the soluble factors involved in inflammation?

Answer 9

• antibodies
• cytokines
• complement system
• coagulation system

Question 10

what are the features and functions of neutrophils?

Answer 10

• contain cytoplasmic granules
• phagocytosis
• degranulation

Question 11

what are the features and functions of monocytes/macrophages?

Answer 11

• monocytes in blood give rise to macrophages in tissue
• phagocytosis
• control many other inflammatory cells
• release cytokines

Question 12

what are the features and functions of eosinophils?

Answer 12

• seen in allergic and parasitic causes of inflammation

Question 13

what are the features and functions of mast cells?

Answer 13

seen in allergic diseases

Question 14

what are the LOCAL clinical features of acute inflammation?

Answer 14

• calor = heat
• tumour = swelling (oedema)
• rubor = redness
• dolor = pain
• loss of function

Question 15

what is calor caused by?

Answer 15

histamine mediated vasodilation

Question 16

what is tumour caused by?

Answer 16

histamine mediated increase in permeability of vessels leading to increased interstitial fluid (oedema)

Question 17

what is rubor caused by?

Answer 17

slow blood flow resulting in redness

Question 18

what is loss of function caused by?

Answer 18

swelling and pain

Question 19

what is histamine?

Answer 19

• vasoactive amine
• produced by mast cells
• packaged into granules inside mast cells and binding of antigen to IgE on the surface of mast cells causes degranulation
• leads to vasodilation and increased vascular permeability

Question 20

name 4 important mediators other than histamine

Answer 20

• prostaglandins
• chemokines
• complement
• cytokines (interleukins, TNF)

Question 21

what can target the inflammatory mediator histamine?

Answer 21

anti-histamines

Question 22

what can target the inflammatory mediator prostaglandin?

Answer 22

aspirin

Question 23

what can target the inflammatory mediators IL-1 and TNF?

Answer 23

anti-TNF antibodies

Question 24

what is colloid osmotic pressure?

Answer 24

a form of osmotic pressure exerted by proteins in a blood vessel’s plasma that usually tends to pull water into the circulatory system

Question 25

what does colloid osmotic pressure do in terms of hydrostatic pressure?

Answer 25

opposes hydrostatic pressure

Question 26

what is exudate?

Answer 26

a fluid with a high content of protein and cellular debris which has escaped from blood vessels and has been deposited in tissues or on tissue surfaces, usually as a result of inflammation

Question 27

what is transudate?

Answer 27

caused by disturbances in hydrostatic and colloid osmotic pressure

NOT CAUSED BY INFLAMMATION

Question 28

what does exudate consist of?

Answer 28

• fluid
• cells
• proteins including fibrin
• antibodies

Question 29

what is the function of fluid in the exudate?

Answer 29

dilutes pathogen and allows soluble mediators to spread

Question 30

what is the function of fibrin in the exudate?

Answer 30

contains pathogen to stop it spreading

gives inflammatory cells substrate to hold on to/migrate through

Question 31

what are the 3 different types of exudate?

Answer 31

• serous = fluid filled
• fibrinous = high fibrin content
• purulent = pus-filled

Question 32

what are the cellular events that neutrophils do in acute inflammation?

Answer 32

1) enter tissue
2) migrate to site of cell injury - chemotaxis
3) become activated
4) carry out their designate role (e.g. phagocytosis)
5) interact with other cell types and release soluble mediators

Question 33

what are the 3 main roles of neutrophils?

Answer 33

• kill bacteria and recruit more cells
• phagocytosis
• degranulation