Glossary
Chronic inflammation.
Direct answer
Chronic inflammation is inflammatory activity that persists for weeks to years. Macrophages and lymphocytes replace neutrophils as the dominant cells, and tissue breakdown proceeds alongside repair. Chronic inflammation may follow an acute reaction that never resolved, or build up quietly from the start, frequently without redness, heat or pain.
Chronic does not simply mean long. What matters is that resolution of inflammation fails to complete: the stimulus persists, or the clearing work of macrophages is left unfinished. Chronic inflammation is therefore not a stretched acute reaction but a distinct state, with different cells, different cytokine patterns and different consequences for the tissue.
In horses, equine asthma, osteoarthritis and the low grade inflammatory background linked to disturbed insulin regulation are common examples. Unlike the acute phase, serum amyloid A often stays normal or only slightly raised here, because it answers mainly to abrupt stimuli. A normal laboratory result is therefore not enough to rule chronic inflammation out.
Acute inflammationResolution of inflammationCytokineSerum amyloid A
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