Systems Terminology

Inflammation participates in:

In acute states, inflammation is self-limiting and resolution-oriented, activating repair pathways before returning the system to baseline.

Regulatory Distinction

Acute inflammation

• Time-bound
• Spatially contained
• Resolution-capable

Chronic inflammation

Chronic inflammation represents a failure of signal termination, embedding inflammatory tone into the organism’s baseline regulatory state.

Information Theory Perspective

Inflammatory signaling encodes data about:

Suppressing the signal without resolving its cause is analogous to interrupting feedback while instability persists.

Integrated Network Model

Chronic inflammation reflects cross-system coupling, involving:

This reinforces inflammation as a distributed systems state, not an isolated malfunction.

Regulatory Framework

A systems-based approach emphasizes:

The guiding question shifts from “How do we block inflammation?” to “Why does the system maintain this signal?”

When inflammatory signaling is interpreted within its systemic context, biological recalibration becomes possible—supporting resilience, adaptability, and long-term stability.

World Health Organization,

National Institutes of Health,

Nature,

The Lancet, and

Frontiers in Immunology.