Inflammation, Infection And Immunity

Question 1

What are the 3 lines of defence in the body?

Answer 1

1st - the skin and mucous membranes
2nd - inflammation
3rd - immunity

Question 2

Describe inflammation

Answer 2

The bodies non specific protective response to tissue damage, disease or injury.

Question 3

What are the 5 cardinal signs of inflammation?

Answer 3

Redness = Rubor, due to vasodilation
Swelling = Tumor, due to extracellular fluid accumulation due to increased vascular permeability
Warmth = Calor, due to increased blood flow and vasodilation
Pain = Dolor, due to localised blood flow and fluid increase which causes an increase in pressure on nerve endings
Loss of function = Function Laesa, due to all of the above.

Question 4

What are some factors that cause inflammation?

Answer 4

Injury - physical, chemical, thermal, electrical
Infection - bacterial, viral, fungi, Protozoa
Infarction - lack of oxygen to an area which will damage tissue
Immune reaction - auto immunity and foreign protein hypersensitivity such as allergic reactions
Nutrient deprivation.

Question 5

What are some examples of inflammatory problems?

Answer 5

Tendinitis
Appendicitis
Osteoarthritis
Pericarditis

Question 6

What are the 4 mechanisms of inflammation?

Answer 6

1 vascular response
2 cellular response
3 phagocytosis
4 lymphatic drainage

Question 7

What are 3 blood tests done to detect for acute inflammation?

Answer 7

White blood cell count
Erythrocytes sedimentation rate
C-reactive protein

Question 8

Describe one of those tests in more detail

Answer 8

This displays the changes seen in the number of white blood cells in your blood stream during inflammation.
Normally our red blood cell level is 5000-10000 mm3 but an inflammatory response will increase the numbers to above 10000mm3.
A condition called leucocytosis.

Question 9

What are the two types of inflammation?

Answer 9

Acute and chronic

Question 10

Describe acute inflammation

Answer 10

The cause is usually know such as a trauma or antigen invasion.
The onset if rapid
Full resolution of tissue occurs
Uses neutrophils, monocytes and macrophages
Active phagocytosis
Restoration of full function

Question 11

Describe chronic inflammation

Answer 11

Cause is often unknown, unresolved acute inflammation
The onset is slow
Fails to resolve the tissue, so treatment is needed
Macrophages and fibroblasts
Persistent on going resistance to phagocytosis
Destructive scar tissue formation
Loss of function in the area

Question 12

What are some common types of medication for inflammation?

Answer 12

Paracetamol - helps with pain relief. Can help to dilute pain and temperature.
Aspirin - suppresses the inflammatory response by acting on prostaglandins which are lipids produced by damaged tissue.
Non - steroidal anti inflammatory drugs - e.g. ibuprofen which have a similar action to aspirin. But too much can causes damage to stomach tissue lining.
Immunosuppressants
Corticosteroids

Question 13

What are some tissue types involved in the Immune response?

Answer 13

Bone marrow - red and yellow types. Yellow found in the shaft and produce white blood cells and red in the ends and produce platelets.
Thymus gland - develop t lymphocytes.
Lymph nodes - holding areas for our immune cells, very close to our blood vessels
Spleen - involved in RBC recycling and stores WBC.
Tonsils - first line of defence, holding area for our immune cells.

Question 14

What are the two main types of immunity?

Answer 14

Cell Mediated

Humoral

Question 15

What do CD4 T cells do?

Answer 15

Manage and coordinate immune response
Act as helper cell - increase production of T and B cells
Actives CD8 cells into Killer cells
Activate B cells to mature plasma cells
Acts as suppressor cells to slow the immune response

Question 16

What actions do antibodies perform?

Answer 16

Agglutination- make foreign cells clump together so they cannot function anymore.
Neutralisation- bind to the antigen our virus making them incapable of harming any other cell
Lysis - direct killing of the antigen by the antibody
Opsonisation- antibody marks the foreign cells so our cells used in phagocytosis recognise it so they know to attack and kill it

Question 17

What is an infection?

Answer 17

A complication of immune function

Question 18

What is an infectious disease?

Answer 18

A state of tissue destruction resulting from invasion by microorganisms.

Question 19

What is resident flora?

Answer 19

Microorganisms that live in or within our bodies in non-sterile areas, but do not cause harm, unless we upset them.
We need a certain amount of them.
When we become infected, the illness or medication can upset this flora and end up killing some of them
Causes microorganisms in the area to take over and compete with the invaded pathogen in order to protect themselves

Question 20

What is a pathogen?

Answer 20

A disease producing microorganisms

Question 21

What signs are looked for to decide if an infection is evident?

Answer 21

Inflammatory/immune response 
Pain
Redness
Best swelling
Fever
Loss of function 
Weakness 
Headaches
Nausea

Question 22

What are the different types of pathogens?

Answer 22

Bacteria
Fungi
Viruses 
Protozoan
Rickettsiae 
Helminths
Mycoplasma