HOW INFLAMMATION AND BRUISES OF THE SKIN CAN OCCUR?
A. INFLAMMATION
1. What is inflammation?
Inflammation is a process or mechanism by which the body's chemicals from the white blood cells protect us from foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria and also from infection.
However, in some diseases, like arthritis, the body's defense system -- the immune system -- triggers an inflammatory response when there are no foreign substances to fight off. In these diseases, called autoimmune diseases, the body's normally protective immune system causes damage to its own tissues. The body responds as if normal tissues are infected or somehow abnormal.
2. What Are the Symptoms of Inflammation?
Symptoms of inflammation include:
Redness
Swollen joint that's warm to the touch
Joint pain
Joint stiffness
Loss of joint function
3. What Causes Inflammation and What Are Its Effects?
When inflammation occurs, our body will release plasma and white blood cell or eukocytes (especially granulocytes) from the blood into the injured tissues in order to protect your body from foreign substances.
The blood flow to the area of injury or infection will increase as a result af the released chemicals and this action may result in redness and warmth.
Some of the chemicals cause a leak of fluid into the tissues, resulting in swelling. This protective process may stimulate nerves and cause pain.
The increased number of cells and inflammatory substances within the joint cause irritation, swelling of the joint lining and, eventually, wearing down of cartilage.
B. BRUISES
1. Background
A bruise or “contusion” appears on the skin when it has suffered a cut or a blow to the area or other related trauma.
This will c...
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...e or causes capillaries to burst under the skin, allowing blood to flow and escape and build up trapped under the skin.
As time progresses, the trapped blood will seeps into the surrounding tissues. This will cause the bruise to darken and spread.
The increased pressure, which, depending on severity and location will be detected by the nerve endings within the affected tissue. Our nervous system may perceived the detected pressure as pain or pressure or be asymptomatic.
To minimize bleeding, the damaged capillary endothelium will releases endothelin, a hormone that causes narrowing of the blood vessels.
As the endothelium is destroyed, the underlying von Willebrand factor which is a blood glycoprotein is exposed and initiates coagulation, which creates a temporary clot to plug the wound and eventually leads to restoration of normal tissue.
Margination and adhesion to the endothelium, in which accumulation of leukocytes occurs along the endothelial wall for adhesion. Afterward, these adhesions cause the separation of endothelial cells, allowing the leukocytes to extend and Transmigrate through the vessel walls. Followed by the response of chemical mediators(chemotaxis) that influence cell migration via an energy directed process which triggers the activation of Phagocytosis, in which monocytes, neutrophils, and tissue macrophages are activated to engulf and degrade cellular debris and
...-1 (PAI-1) from the endothelial cells and monocytes, activating the extrinsic coagulation pathway. This also leads to activation of factor X and fibrin production.
The B cells, T cells, Macrophage, and Antibodies are all a very large part of the immune system. There are two types of T cells, killer and helper T cells. Killer T cells find and destroy cells infected with bacteria, and helper T cells control the activity of other cells in the immune system. Then, B cells are considered the “clean up crew,” attacking any bacteria or viruses the T cell left behind. They also make antibodies, which are essential for trapping invading viruses and
occurs so the heat deep in the muscles is conserved. Since the vessels are now
Inflammation: the response to injured tissue that stops bleeding and causes swelling and warmth as the tissue prepares to repair itself
The job of the immune system is to keep “foreign” invaders out of the body, or if one gets in, to seek it out and kill it. These foreign invaders are called pathogens, which are tiny organisms that can cause an infection in the body. Pathogens can be bacteria, parasites, and fungi (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/immuneSystem/pages/whatisimmunesystem.aspx).
After the needle is inserted into the skin, the surrounding area becomes red. This may be a result of the release of hormones into the bloodstream. These hormones may be the body's natural pain killers, which stimulate blood circulation as well reduce pain (http://www.acupuncture.com/Acup/Works.htm).
The term, ischemia, denotes inadequate blood supply to tissues due to blockage of the arterial inflow, while, reperfusion injury is defined as the injury caused by the restitution of blood flow after an ischemic peroid, leading to death of cells that were only reversibly injured at the time of blood flow restitution. [63]. The final infarct size after an MI event is therefore the result of the ischemic and reperfusion damage. For this reason, the term that best describes this process of myocyte death in reperfused MI is myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury [64]. In the early hours post myocardial ischemia, injured cardiac cells can release several molecules, including adenosine, opioids, and bradykinin, which activate the G protein signaling pathways therefore promoting myocardial survival. While in the late phase, myocardial ischemia induces upregulation of growth factors and cytokines, including VEGF, ILGF and SDF-1, in the injured myocardium, hence promoting a cardio-protective state. The liver also participates in cardioprotection through the up regulation and release of secretory proteins, including FGF21 and TFF3, which also promote cardiomyocyte survival. [65]. Foundational studies performed about three decades ago with animal models demonstrated that an early reperfusion was able to limit infarct size [66]. Then fibrinolysis was indisputably associated with a decrease in mortality in patients with STEMI [67].A decade later; primary angioplasty was shown to be more superior than fibrinolysis [68]. Currently primary coronary angioplasty (PCI) has been established as the backbone treatment for STEMI patients. The period from the onset of symptoms of MI (representative of the time of coronary occlusion) and reperfusio...
Causes of these disorders include immune-system reactions and the wear and tear of aging, while research indicates that the nervous system may often be equally involved. About one out of seven Americans exhibit some form of arthritis. INFLAMMATORY CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASES This varied group of diseases produces inflammation in the connective tissues, particularly in the joints. The signs of inflammation--warmth, redness, swelling, and pain--may be apparent. Microscopic examination of the lesions reveals prominent blood vessels, abnormal accumulations of white blood cells, and varying degrees of wound healing with scarring.
Immediately after wounding, the first phase of hemostatsis sets in motion with vascular constriction which restricts the blood flow in the blood vessels followed by the platelets plug formation which creates a temporary blockage of blood flow and then coagulation takes place with fibrin clot formation. The clot and surrounding tissue release pro-inflammatory growth factors and cytokines such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-13, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF).
walls of the veins are permeable to H2O at this point, starving the rest of the
Interferon is a natural occurring substance produced by the body in response to infection and disease. It is a protein belonging to the cytokines family and they are a form of chemical messengers that send signals from one cell to another. Manufactured forms of interferon have been shown to help the body's immune system fight off disease more effectively.
Almost everyone develops osteoarthrits as they age, some get it while in their fifties and in others it does not appear until their eighties. Osteoarthritis is the most common form that affects older people; this form of the disease wears down the cartilage mostly through overuse and injury but there are other causes. This specific form of the disease causes the cartilage to break down and the bones to rub against each other. Deformity and swelling occurs because knobs of hardened bits of cartilage develop in the joint. It forms especially if a joint has been injured many times.
Inflammation which is part of the innate immune system is a process by which the body reacts to injury protecting it from infection and foreign substances with the help of the body’s white blood cells “Inflammation can be defined as the body’s local vascular and cellular response to injury caused by factors that invade and injure the body from the outside (exogenous factors) or factors within the body that result in cellular or tissue injury (endogenous) factors” (Battle, 2009, P 238). Factors such as bacteria, viruses, burns, frostbite, chemical irritants, immune reactions and physical injury are examples of factors that can cause inflammation through different mechanisms. It is a protective mechanism with rapid response that neutralizes or destroys agents that causes injury and creates a barrier that limit the injury and prevents its spread to normal tissues (Battle, 2009). Also, it has elements that removes debris and heals the wound generated by the injury. It can be divided into acute and chronic inflammation.
The white blood cells destroy any unfamiliar pathogens in the bloodstream and can cause inflammation. Therefore, the inflammation causes a surplus of white blood cells to clot the wound for healing.