Acute Inflammation
Acute Inflammation
Acute Inflammation
Waseem Ashraf
Learning Objectives
Recommended Books:
• Robbins and Cotran PATHOLOGIC BASIS OF DISEASE 1st South Asia Edition
Summary of Previous Lecture
Inflammation is a beneficial host response to foreign invaders and necrotic tissues; however, it may
also cause tissue damage.
There are two major components of inflammation Steps of Inflammatory Response (5Rs)
a) A vascular reaction 1. Recognition of the injurious agent
b) A cellular response 2. Recruitment of Leukocytes
mediated by mediators derived from plasma 3. Removal of agents
proteins or various cells. 4. Regulation (control) of response
5. Resolution (repair)
Causes of Inflammation Outcomes
To protect normal tissue from injury there are different preventive mechanisms such as anti-proteases.
Neutrophil extracellular traps are extracellular fibrillar network that concentrates anti-microbial substances at the
site of infection and prevent the spread of the microbes by trapping them in fibrils.
Leukocytes-Mediated Tissue Injury
1. Collateral damage of normal tissue in defense reaction against microbes e.g., Hepatitis,
Tuberculosis
2. Inappropriately directed towards host proteins / cells e.g., autoimmune disease
3. Hyper reaction of leukocytes to normal stimuli or harmless environmental substances
Mostly “frustrated macrophages” that fail to engulf the threat release a large quantity of granule
enzymes damaging the surrounding tissue or
Engulfed materials such as urate, silica crystals may damage the phagolysosome membrane and
release the damaging content in the surrounding tissues.