Inflammation Flashcards
Nonspecific, predictable response of living tissue to injury
Inflammation
Examples of chronic inflammation
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Lupus
Noxious
Fever
Inflammation has a protective role/generally beneficial, but can be uncontrollable and be harmful. What’s an example of this?
Pulmonary TB, can erode pulmonary vessels and cause massive bleeding (hemoptysis)
How is inflammation helpful forensically?
Inflammation only occurs in living tissues. In forensics is a “vital reaction” and indicated injury occurred before death.
5 signs of inflammation
- Calor (heat)
- Rubor (redness)
- Tumor (swelling)
- Dolor (pain)
- Functio laesa (loss of function)
Represents the body’s first response to injury (inflammation)
Changes in blood flow
Acts as sphincters and regulate inflow of blood into capillaries when mechanical stimulus (burn) stimulates nerves
Smooth muscle cells on pre-capillary arterioles
Are precapillary sphincters normally open or closed?
Closed. They open with “acute inflammation” and dilation allows blood to flow to site causing (redness, warmth, swelling)
- What is the 1st response of arterioles to injurious stimuli? How long does it last?
- 2nd response?
- Vasoconstriction, a few seconds
- Vasodilation (relaxation of precapillary sphincters)
Hyperemia
Excess of blood in the vessels (which causes warmth)
Which vessels cannot actively regulate incoming blood flow. Why?
-Capillaries
-Venules
Because they only have endothelial layer and basement membrane
Increased pressure in capillaries/venules leads to what?
It forces plasma filtration thru vessel wall –> edema
Ex: blister filled w/ clear fluid (plasma w/o RBC or WBC)
Edema causes blood flow in the dilated capillaries/venules to be slow due to what?
Hemoconcentration, so RBC stack on top of each other
Sludged erythrocytes form stacks called what? What results?
“Rouleaux”
-Slows circulation even more
What happens after “rouleaux”
“Pavementing”
-WBCs marginate and attach to edge of endothelium and develop elongated protusions (become sticky) to adhere to endothetlial cells lining capillaries/venules
What squeezes through gap junction
Neutrophils, after squeezing through they are at the site to perform phagocytosis
Normally present on leukocytes and endothelial cell in an inactive form
Surface adhesion molecules
During inflammation, surface components of leukocytes/endothelial cells are activated by soluble mediators of inflammation which are normally present in blood. What are these called?
Interleukins
Derived in part from platelets and leukocytes
interleukins
One of the most important triggers for release of mediators of inflammation
Adhesion of leukocytes to endothelial cells
What substance initiates clotting which leads to fibrin strands which anchor leukocytes to the vessel wall?
Platelets
The increased permeability of vessel walls of capillaries/venules lasts how long?
hours to days
Leakage of fluid from vessels into interstitial spaces
edema
In acute inflammation, most of the cells are what?
Neutrophils (PMNs)