Fibrosis

Fibrosis
Classification and external resources
Micrograph of a heart showing fibrosis (yellow - left of image) and amyloid deposition (brown - right of image). Movat's stain.
MeSH	D005355

Fibrosis is the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue in a reparative or reactive process. This can be a reactive, benign, or pathological state. In response to injury this is called scarring and if fibrosis arises from a single cell line this is called a fibroma. Physiologically this acts to deposit connective tissue, which can obliterate the architecture and function of the underlying organ or tissue. Fibrosis can be used to describe the pathological state of excess deposition of fibrous tissue, as well as the process of connective tissue deposition in healing. ^[1].

Physiology [edit]

Fibrosis is similar to the process of scarring, in that both involve stimulated cells laying down connective tissue, including collagen and glycosaminoglycans. Immune cells called Macrophages, and damaged tissue between surfaces called interstitium release TGFbeta. This can be because of numerous reasons, including inflammation of the nearby tissue, or a generalised inflammatory state, with increased circulating mediators. TGFbeta stimulates the proliferation and activation of fibroblasts, which deposit connective tissue.^[2]

Examples of fibrosis [edit]

Fibrosis can occur in many tissues within the body, typically as a result of inflammation or damage, and examples include:

Micrograph showing cirrhosis of the liver. The tissue in this example is stained with a trichrome stain, in which fibrosis is colored blue. The red areas are the nodular liver tissue

Lungs

• Pulmonary fibrosis (lungs)
  • Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (where the cause is unknown)
  • Cystic fibrosis
• Cirrhosis (liver)

Heart

• Endomyocardial fibrosis (heart)
• Old myocardial infarction (heart)
• Atrial Fibrosis (heart)

Other

• Mediastinal fibrosis (soft tissue of the mediastinum)
• Myelofibrosis (bone marrow)
• Retroperitoneal fibrosis (soft tissue of the retroperitoneum)
• Progressive massive fibrosis (lungs); a complication of coal workers' pneumoconiosis
• Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (skin)
• Crohn's Disease (intestine)
• Keloid (skin)
• Scleroderma/systemic sclerosis (skin, lungs)
• Arthrofibrosis (knee, shoulder, other joints)
• Some forms of adhesive capsulitis (shoulder)

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• International Scar Meeting in Tokyo 2010 International Scar Meeting

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