Library · Physiology
Acute inflammation
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Acute inflammation is the response that starts fast and does not last long: it begins within minutes or hours, and it usually clears up in a few days.
The cells that make up most of that infiltrate are neutrophils, a type of white blood cell. Meanwhile, substances called mediators, histamine being the best known, widen the blood vessels in the area: more blood arrives and the vessel wall becomes more permeable, meaning it lets fluid escape into the tissue.
That explains what you see and feel: the area swells, turns red, feels warm, hurts, and stops working properly. Those are the classic signs.
And there is a last part that matters as much as the start: a termination phase that switches the process off. It is an emergency crew that arrives fast and has to withdraw on its own, because if nothing stops it the damage becomes excessive.
In brief
Acute inflammation begins within minutes to hours, usually resolves in a few days, and its cellular infiltrate is mostly neutrophils.
Mediators such as histamine widen the vessels and increase blood flow, and the greater permeability lets fluid leak into the tissue.
Hence its classic signs: swelling, redness, heat, pain, and loss of function.
A final termination phase shuts the process down and prevents the excessive damage that would occur if nothing stopped it.
An emergency crew that arrives fast and has to withdraw on its own.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPathology, Inflammation, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated