Specific Acute Inflammatory Responses

Although inflammation is the major component of some dermatological disorders, it is also an important though subsidiary component of many more. The skin shows striking clinical and histopathological specificity, compared with other organs and tissues, in its reponse to injury. It is capable of responding to different forms of injury in widely varying ways, ranging from erytheme and wealing to blister formation, reactions seen in no other organ or tissue surfaces. Itching is also a symptom of inflammation unique to the skin. At a microscopic level the skin also manifests a striking cellular reaction, seen in no other tissue, called spongiosis, i.e. intercellular oedema. Although the pharmacological events occurring in inflamed skin and in other tissues show points of similarity, it is not surprising that there are also major differences. It is imortant to attempt to understand these differences, not only in order to appreciate the pathophysiology of inflammatory skin disorders but also for the sake of future progress in developing innovative drug treatment for these conditions.