The Immunology of Sepsis

Inflammation is the body’s non-specific reaction to tissue injury; the end result of highly amplified yet tightly controlled, humoral and cellular mechanisms aimed principally at limiting the extent of tissue damage. Localised inflammation is an appropriate protective physiological response often resulting in the elimination of the initiating noxious stimulus and the early restoration of homeostasis. Loss of local control or an exaggerated host reaction can, however, result in a progressive immuno-inflammatory process, the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), which, in extreme cases, can lead to organ dysfunction and death.