Chronic inflammation

Chronic inflammation is a long lasting inflammation (weeks or months) due to persistent aggressive stimuli and is characterized by: active inflammation with mononuclear cells, tissue destruction and repair. It can follow acute inflammation or can be chronic right from the beginning.

Types of chronic inflammation : unspecific (e.g. : chronic peptic ulcer) and specific (granulomatous).

According to the mechanism, granulomatous inflammation may be : immune type (tuberculosis, sarcoidosis) and non-immune type (foreign body reaction).

Classification of granulomatous inflammation, according to the etiology :

  1. Infectious granuloma :
    • Bacterial :
      • Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Koch bacillus) - Tuberculosis
      • Mycobacterium leprae - Leprosy
      • Treponema pallidum - Syphilis
      • Gram-positive bacillus (Actinomyces israeli) - Actinomycosis
      • Gram-negative bacillus (Bartonella henselae) - Cat-scratch disease
    • Parasitic :
      • Toxoplasma gondii - Toxoplasmosis
      • Helminths - Cysticercosis
    • Fungi (Candida albicans) - Candidiasis
  2. Foreign body granuloma
  3. Unknown etiology granuloma :
    • Sarcoidosis
    • Crohn's disease

Last updated : 01/30/2009