Inflammation: Basic, Clinical and Applied Aspects

Inflammation is a complex biological response of the tissues of a body to harmful stimuli such as irritants, damaged cells and pathogens. It is a protective response involving the blood vessels, immune cells and molecular mediators. It acts to eliminate the cause of cell injury, clean out the necrotic cells and tissues harmed and initiate tissue repair. Less inflammation can lead to diseases such as periodontitis, rheumatoid arthritis, hay fever, atherosclerosis, etc. Inflammation can have a number of outcomes such as fibrous scarring, abscess formation and chronic inflammation. When the inflammatory response is no longer desirable, it should be terminated. Any failure of the body to do so results in cellular destruction and chronic inflammation. The objective of this book is to give a general view of the varied clinical aspects of inflammation. Different approaches, evaluations, methodologies and advanced studies on inflammation have been included in this book. Those in search of knowledge in this domain will be greatly assisted by this book.