What is the purpose of inflammation? Why do we need to feel pain? Pain is essential to alert our bodies that something wrong is going on, and pain lets us know that a particular part of the body needs extra care. The other three factors (heat, redness, and swelling) are equally important, because they allow the immune system to come into action. The expansion of the capillaries and the increased blood flow bring the immune cells, such as neutrophils and monocytes, into the affected area. These immune cells are our internal warriors. They are the fighters that protect us against the agents causing the inflammation, such as the flu virus causing the sore throat or bacteria that are trying to enter the body through a wound in the skin. This protective function of inflammation, although it is very clear to us now, was not discovered until the nineteenth century when a Russian zoologist named Elie Metchnikoff proposed that inflammation may be protective rather than harmful .
In summary, inflammation is a reaction of our bodies, driven by the immune system, against potentially harmful elements. Inflammation is then good and necessary for the preservation of our health.

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