Pathology: Inflammation Outcomes & Chronic Inflammation Flashcards
List the outcomes of inflammation
- Resolution
- Suppuration
- Restitution (repair, organisation, and fibrosis)
- Chronic inflammation
Are the outcomes of inflammation mutually exclusive?
No
e.g. suppuration can lead to fibrosis, as can chronic inflammation
Describe the factors the govern the outcome of inflammation
Site of injury - different tissues have differing capacities to repair (due to cell type, vascular supply etc.)
Type of injury - severity
Duration of injury
Describe resolution as an outcome of inflammation
- Tissue is as it was before the inflammation
Describe the requirements for resolution
- minimal cell damage
- good vascular supply
- good tissue type
- no damage of basement membrane
Describe suppuration
- Production of pus
- e.g. an abscess, empyema
What is pus?
A mix of living, dying and dead cells
neutrophiles, bacteria, inflammatory debris
What is an empyema?
A collection of pus in a naturally existing body cavity
e.g. pleural empyema
Describe organisation as an outcome of inflammation
…
Describe granulation tissue
- new connective tissue and vasculature that forms on a wounds surface during healing
- It is common to all responses
- Infiltrated by myofibroblasts
What is the role of myofibroblasts in granulation tissue?
Deposit collagen and smooth muscle cells
Describe fibrosis and scarring as an outcome of inflammation
- Often results in a loss of function
What is scarring and fibrosis called in the liver?
Cirrhosis
Describe the factors that promote chronic inflammation
- Supuration where the pus is walled off
- Persistence of injury (e.g. foreign body)
- Persistence of infectious agent
- Type of injury (autoimmune, transplant rejection)
Describe chronic inflammation
- Characterised by lymphocytes and macrophages
- Often granulomatous
