MoD S2 - Acute inflammation Flashcards
Define acute inflammation and its purpose
Response of living tissue to injury and is initiated to limit tissue damage
List the features of acute inflammation
Short duration, innate, stereotyped and immediate
List the possible causes of acute inflammation
- Microbial infection
- Chemical
- Physical agents
- Tissue necrosis
- Hypersensitivity reactions
What are the macroscopic consequences of acute inflammation?
Rubor, dolor, calor, tumor and loss of function
What are the two phases of acute inflammation?
Vascular phase and cellular phase
What changes in blood flow occur during the vascular stage of acute inflammation?
- Transient vasoconstriction of arterioles
- Vasodilation of capillaries and arterioles
- Increase in blood flow creates calor and rubor
- Increased permeability of vessels means that there is more extrusion of protein rich fluid into tissues creating stasis in blood vessels
What is oedema?
Excess fluid in the interstitial
What is the difference between transudate and exudate?
Transudate has a low protein content whereas exudate is protein rich
How does the body respond to oedema?
Increased lymphatic drainage
What are the different mechanisms of vascular leakage?
- Endothelial contraction
- Cytoskeletal reorganisation
- Direct injury
- Leucocytic dependent injury
- Increased transcytosis
What causes each of these mechanisms to occur?
- Endothelial contraction‐ histamines, leukotrienes
- Cytoskeletal reorganisation‐ cytokines, IL‐1 and TNF alpha
- Direct injury
- Leucocytic dependent injury‐ ROS and enzymes from leucocytes
- Increased transcytosis‐ VEGF
Outline the process of neutrophil infiltration of cells
Margination‐ stasis causes neutrophils to line up along endothelium
Rolling‐ neutrophils roll along endothelium, stick intermittently
Adhesion‐ neutrophils stick avidly
Emigration‐ neutrophils move through blood vessel walls
How do neutrophils move through blood vessel walls?
Relaxation of inter‐endothelial cell junctions
Digestion of vascular basement membrane
Define chemotaxis
Movement of cells along the concentration gradient of chemoattractents
List the chemotoxin molecules
C5a, LT4B and bacterial peptides
How do neutrophils carry out phagocytosis?
- Contact, recognition and internalisation facilitated by opsins
- Cytoskeletal changes occur enabling the neutrophil to internalise the pathogen
- Forms a phagosome which can fuse with the lysosome for digestion
What are the two mechanisms by which neutrophils kill cells
Oxygen dependent:
- Superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide
- H2O2‐ myeloperoxide‐halide system produces HOCl radicals
Oxygen independent:
- Lysozyme and hydrolases
- BPI
- Cationic proteins (defensins)
What are the potential local complications of acute inflammation?
Swelling, compression, loss of fluid, pain and loss of function
What are the potential systemic complications of acute inflammation?
Fever, acute phase response, leucocytosis, shock
What are the causes of fever?
Endogenous pyrogens‐ IL‐1, TNF alpha
Prostaglandins
What are the causes of leucocytosis?
IL‐1 and TNF‐alpha accelerate release of WBC from bone marrow
T‐lymphocytes produce colony stimulating factors