CHAPTER IV. 

 INFLAMMATION. 



The changes which take place in a tissue when 

 injured, and all those changes which follow as a con- 

 sequence of the injury, constitute inflammation. In 

 previous chapters emphasis was laid on the fact that 

 the body resents injury and is quick to battle against 

 any agent which tends to do it harm; also, that it pos- 

 sesses remarkable reconstructive ability when des- 

 truction of tissues has occurred. Both the defensive 

 and reconstructive powers of the body are due to what 

 was termed its "defensive mechanism," a function 

 that has grown to its present proportions through the 

 operation of natural laws which govern survival and 

 development. 



We have seen that recovery from infectious diseases 

 is due to the neutralization of the toxic products of 

 bacteria, or solution of the bacteria themselves by sub- 

 stances (antibodies) which are formed within the body. 

 The action of antibodies, however, is limited either to 

 the neutralization of toxins or bacteria, since they 

 neither repair injured tissues nor replace those destroyed. 

 In simple injuries from mechanical and physical causes, 



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