The inflammatory process starts with an injury. for example, you were outside pruning your roses and one of the thorns pricked you. macrophages and mast cells are activated. mast cells go to the site quickly and releases histamine. the macrophages take longer to come because they rely of the chemical left by the mast cells. neutrophils go to the site of inflammation through chemotaxis. chemotaxis is the process of a cell moving along a concentration gradient toward the site of inflammation. blood vessels widen increasing blood flow (heat and redness) and become more permeable, allowing fluid from the extracellular space to come to the site (swelling). the fluid causes nerve endings to produce pain. since the thorn had pathogens on it, the neutrophils would ingest the pathogens and dies. macrophages will do phagocytosis cell eating it will ingest the dead neutrophils, damaged cells, and cell debris. the macrophage dumps its contents in the closest lymph node then, the tissue heals.
