Pain Dictionary
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- Elastase
- Enzyme that digests elastin, which leads to tissue break down. P. aeruginosa produce elastases.
- Enamel matrix protein
- Proteins found in the enamel-forming region on developing teeth, mainly amelogenin. These proteins are adhesive extracellular matrix proteins involved in tissue development and are not found in the organism after the teeth have been fully developed.
- Endotoxin
- A part of the bacterial body, freed when the bacteria disintegrates, e.g. LPS
- Endoplasmic reticulum
- An organelle of eukaryotic cells consisting of a membrane network that is fused to the nuclear membrane and which passes through the cytoplasm. It is the site for protein and lipid synthesis, "rough" and "smooth" ER, respectively, where rough refers to ribosomes attached to the membrane.
- Enzyme
- Protein that catalyses a specific chemical reaction, that is, speeding up the reaction by reducing the activation energy for a particular chemical change. Each enzyme has a unique shape and binds a particular set of other molecules, called substrates. Enzymes molecules themselves are not changed after participating in a reaction and therefore can function over and over again.
- Epithelialisation
- The final stage of wound healing where epidermal cells migrate across the surface of the wound from the wound margins and the remaining hair follicles.
- Erythema
- A redness of the skin owing to hyperaemia.
- Erythrocytes
- Red blood cells.
- Eschar
- A thick coagulated crust or slough which develops in both acute and chronic wounds consisting of dried serum and devitalised dermal cells.
- Eucaryotic cell
- All cells are classified as either eucaryotes or procaryotes. All cells in multicellular organisms, and in unicellular organisms other than bacteria, are eucaryotic cells that in contrast to prokaryotic cells have a distinct nucleus surrounding its genetic material and cytoplasm containing numerous membrane-bound organelles.
- Exotoxin
- A toxin produced by micro organisms and released into the surrounding.
- Extracellular matrix (ECM)
- Complex network of macromolecules filling up the extracellular space in animal tissues. The ECM is composed of a variety of proteins and polysaccharides that are secreted locally and assembled into an organized meshwork in close association with the cells that produced them (mainly the fibroblasts cell family). Some of the ECM proteins are referred to as structural- and adhesion proteins, e.g. collagen and fibronectin. They serve as structural elements in tissues and influences their development and physiology, respectively. In connective tissue the ECM is more plentiful than the cells it surrounds and it determines the tissue’s physical properties.
