SUMMARY

OVERVIEW OF WOUND
Wound is an injury in which the skin or another external surface is torn, pierced, cut or otherwise
broken (Sandhya). Wound is dened as disruption of cellular, anatomical, and functional continuity
of a living tissue. It may be produced by physical, chemical, thermal, microbial, or immunological
insult to the tissue. (Rupesh). Wounds can be classified into acute wounds and chronic wounds.
Acute wounds result in short healing time and it is caused by surgery or trauma. Chronic wounds
have longer healing time in which it is caused by severe complications or diseases like leg ulcers,
arterial ulcers, diabetes, pressure ulcers, etc. Abrasions, avulsions, contusions, crush wounds, incised
wound, laceration, penetrating wound, punctures are few examples of types of wound. (sandhya)
Wound healing is a natural process in which regeneration of epidermal and dermal tissues are
achieved through the continuous cell to cell and cell to matric interactions. There are actually four
phases of wound healing namely: hemostasis or the bleeding phase, inflammation phase,
proliferation phase and lastly is the maturation phase.
Hemostasis
At this stage, Platelets seals off the damged blood vessels, they release substances that form a
stable clot sealing the damaged vessel or trigger the clotting cascade through the production of
thrombin which in turn initiates the formation of fibrin from fibrinogen (heather). The fibrin mesh
temporarily closes the wound.
At this stage, wound produce large amount of blood and serous fluids in order to cleanse the surface
of the wound and to wash away contaminants.
Inflammatory phase
Wound exudate is produced during this stage of healing due to the increased permeability of the
capillary membranes. The exudate contains enzymes, growth factors, etc. in which helps in the
healing process of the wound. Neutrophils (white cells) cleanses the wound by phagocytising the
microorganism or bacteria present in the wound, after that, the neutrophils die but when they die,
they release intracellular enzymes into the surrounding matrix. Cells known as the macrophages,
secretes proteases collagenase and elastase that break down damaged tissue that is not required in
the healing process.
This phase of wound healing is characterized by inflammation redness, swelling (oedema), heat
and pain which is a result of the increased blood flow to the are and the cessel wall permeability
(john Timmons)
Proliferative phase