What is Diapedesis?
The blood vessels are lined with the endothelium, a layer of cells that tends to protect blood cell migration outside of the cells. However, injury or trauma can cause white blood cells to migrate across the endothelium. This process is called diapedesis. As a result of diapedesis, white cells become part of the interstitial fluid, which surrounds the blood vessels and the tissue cells of the body. The white cells may exhibit diapedesis to fight infection in the tissues surrounding blood vessels. The blood vessels themselves provide a built-in pathway for diapedesis to occur when needed. When the white cells slow down, they can slip through tiny spaces in the endothelium, called interendothelial spaces, which widen in response to the presence of chemicals the body produces in larger number during an infection or traumatic injury. The slow down of the blood cells is also caused by a release of chemicals, which makes the white cells respond in order to address infection. Part of the swel
