What is inflammation?

Inflammation is a defensive reaction of the body.
For the inflammation is also often used in medicine, the term inflammation. Inflammation means nothing more than the normal immune response of the human body to a stimulus. The aim of the immune response is to eliminate the triggering stimulus and its consequences.


The causes can be manifold and lead to different consequences.
Inflammation can have many causes:

    Physical stimuli by friction, pressure, foreign body, too high or too low temperature, radiation.
    Chemical stimuli by acids or bases.
    Micro-organisms: viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites infection cf.
    Endogenous stimuli (autogenous stimuli) such as uremia (uremic) or by the decay of the body's own cells, such as a tumor.


Local inflammations are always carried out following the same scheme.
There are localized, local inflammatory reactions and general inflammatory reactions, which involve the entire organism. At the local inflammatory response is an injury of cells and tissues in the foreground. The sequence is always the same:

    Ischemia: local narrowing through the release of adrenaline, the smallest blood vessels, the arterioles. There is a decreased blood flow, which lasts only a few seconds to minutes. Is a visible sign of pallor. Then dissolve the temporary narrowing of the arterioles and it is now reversed to a local increased blood flow. Is a visible sign of redness. The immune system secretes mediators that cause narrowing of the fine venous blood vessels (venules) and thereby leads to congestion. A visible sign is a swelling.
   Permeability fault: With permeability is the permeability of a membrane meant. The permeability of the vascular wall is disrupted for a few minutes. During this time, exacerbated by the congestion, increased fluid leakage into the tissue.
    Blood plasma exudation: Due to gaps in the vessel walls also appear more immune cells into the surrounding tissue. There is then propagated to phagocytosis.


Classic signs of inflammation:
Visible signs of local inflammation are redness, heat, swelling, pain and dysfunction. These signs are also known (according to Celsus) as classic signs of inflammation. However, it can run a local inflammatory reaction in the interior of the body. Then the signs of infection become apparent in the form of relevant complaints.


General inflammation affecting the entire organism.
A general inflammatory response affects the whole organism. Here it comes:

    increased formation of granulocytes
    increased production of certain plasma proteins
    increased metabolism seen by fever
    Triggering an immune response
    Symptoms such as malaise or fatigue.


A general inflammation is not always the same. It can lead to spillage, are a collection of cells and growths.
General inflammatory responses can be divided in various ways, eg according to their timing (eg, acute or chronic) or according to their mode of propagation. After the course of the inflammatory response following subdivisions are made:

    exudative inflammation. This is the exudate in the foreground. Exudate is a leakage of fluid and cells from blood vessels and lymph vessels, which was caused by inflammation. Depending on what ingredients predominate in the exudate, further distinctions are made.
    granulomatous inflammation. Thus, a typical focal accumulation of cells (= nodular granuloma formation of new cells) called with or without necrosis. Depending on the nature of the cells further distinctions to be made.
    proliferative (granulated) inflammation. Proliferation is another word for growth. In typical local inflammation may or immigrant cells grow more and develop a granulation tissue. Proliferation may also occur at the boundary of abscesses or necrosis. Proliferative inflammation usually have a growing, aggressive course.


An inflammation may have lasting consequences.
Depending on how the immune system responds to a generalized inflammation and how long the inflammatory response, the healing to be complete, or it can develop such as chronic inflammation lasting consequences.


An infection is an infection caused by microorganisms.
To once again clarify the difference between infection and inflammation as inflammatory response by microorganisms, are two examples:

    If you get a sunburn, the inflammation is a reaction that was triggered by the physical stimulus "Once sun counting". Depending on the severity can lead to redness and swelling. Sunburn hurts, and sometimes you can not move the affected body parts well.
    Bacteria enter the bloodstream or by an injury to a joint, it can lead to infectious arthritis. Commonly referred to as rheumatic fever at the joint disease leads to a strong swelling. The joint is flushed and hot and there is formed a joint effusion. The mobility is restricted and there are a lot of pain. In addition, those affected are in poor general condition, the skin is gray and pale. It comes to Schubart high fever, chills, macular hemorrhages in the skin. In severe forms, signs or symptoms of sepsis and shock.

It is in practice very often, that inflammation is associated with infection by a microorganism with an infectious inflammation.