Few concepts in medical theory have been so enduring as this one. The word, from the Latin iflammatio, to ignite or set fire, was probably introduced by the Roman Aulus Cornelius Celsus in the 1st century AD. Galenic medicine adopted the term, defining it according to four symptoms: redness, swelling, excessive heat, and pain. Traditionally, inflammation was explained as resulting from an excessive flow of blood to an injured or diseased organ. But by the 18th century, it was attributed to non-specific external irritants as well as psychic trauma. Inflammation was thus considered the local irritation of tissues brought about by the corresponding nerves.
Read more here – Inflammation : The Lancet.
Filed under: Topic review , Inflammation, The Lancet
