Does the intensity of the inflammatory reaction in a bruise depend on its proximity to the site of trauma?

Abstract

Whole blood was withdrawn by tail vessel puncture from anesthetized adult male Sprague-Dawley rats and 0.1 ml was re-injected subcutaneously at each of two sites on their abdominal wall. In addition, two adjacent sites were injected with 0.1 ml of sterile saline, and two more sites were only punctured using an injecting needle. In the second part of the study anesthetized adult male Sprague-Dawley rats had two sites on the abdominal wall pinched using a small pair of forceps, two adjacent sites received an injection of 0.1 ml of whole blood obtained by tail vessel puncture, and two more sites were both pinched and injected with 0.1 ml of whole blood. At intervals of 3, 6, 12 h, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days the animals were euthanized and the skin of the abdomen was processed for histological assessment. Hemosiderin staining in tissues from the first part of the study was assessed qualitatively by scoring sections as 0, 1, 2, or 3 (representing no staining, mild staining, moderate staining, and intense staining) and semi quantitatively using a Nanozoomer Digital Pathology Scanner (NDP Scan U10074-01, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Japan). No inflammatory reaction was observed at the sites subjected to needle puncture only. At the sites of saline injection a mild reaction occurred. At the sites where the blood had been injected an intense inflammatory cell response occurred centrally, but not toward the periphery where blood had tracked. In the second experiment the most intense inflammation was also observed in the sites where there had been a pinch and injection of blood. Again, this was maximal centrally with reduced inflammation peripherally. Perls' staining of hemosiderin was comparable in both models, with iron first observed at day 1 at the region of the injection site. At the sites of injection only, and the sites of injection plus pinch, blood had spread laterally. Hemosiderin staining appeared first and more intensely at the site of injection/trauma. The intensity of the inflammatory response in this animal model of bruising was, therefore, directly related to the proximity to the site of trauma; the appearance and intensity of hemosiderin staining was also influenced by the location within the bruises. This study has shown that histological changes that may be utilized to date bruises may be significantly influenced by the site of the biopsy.