Summarize the steps involved with the inflammatory response

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In the area around a wound, white blood cells called macrophages detect and bind to molecules on the surface of the invading bacteria. Binding to the bacterial cell activates the macrophage, which then engulfs and destroys the bacteria. Activated macrophages also secrete chemical signal molecules called cytokines. The cytokines, along with histamine secreted by activated mast cells in the area of infection, cause nearby capillaries to dilate, increasing blood flow to the area (this is why the area around a cut or scrape gets red and warm). The heat creates an unfavorable environment for bacterial growth, mobilizes additional white blood cells, and raises the metabolic rate in nearby cells. These reactions promote healing. The cytokines also make the blood vessel all sticky, causing neutrophils to attach. Chemokines attract neutophils, which pass between cells of the blood vessel wall and migrate to the infection site and flood into the area, engulfing and destroying the invading bacteria.

If infection persists, clotting factors in blood plasma trigger a cascade of small blood clots that seal off the injured area, preventing the escape of invading organisms, recruiting more white blood cells to destroy the invading bacteria. Finally, the area is targeted by white blood cells that clean up dead bacteria and dispose of dead cells and debris.