Inflammation & Immune

Inflammation is a response of body tissues to a harmful agent, such as disease-causing pathogens, irritants, or damaged cells.  Inflammation is a process which involves immune cells, molecular mediators, and blood vessels and is an act of the body to protect itself.  Inflammation can be characterized by heat, redness, pain, swelling, and loss of function.  Inflammation can be localized such as an insect bite or an infected wound, or it can be chronic and systemic as a result of disease, allergy, or systemic infection. The immune system is the protective system of the body that fights against foreign substances, tissues, and cells.  The immune system response has to identify what is from the body and what is from an outside source.