Minor Wounds Research Paper

Tissue Repair in Minor Wounds The skin is the biggest protector of our bodies and its organs. It is made up of two primary layers, the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin and is a membranous epithelial tissue. The dermis is the inner and thicker layer of the skin and is a fibrous connective tissue that provides strength to the skin (lecture supplement, ch.6). When injury or damage occurs to the skin, it goes through 4 different phases to repair itself. The first being homeostasis because of the body and its structures natural response to keep things the same at all times. The second stage would be inflammation, where the damaged and dead cells are cleared out of the wound. The third stage is proliferation where new tissue is grown to replace the damaged tissue and its structures. The final stage is maturation or remodeling where the collagen is replaced and unneeded cells are disposed of (Wikipedia, Wound Healing). Proliferation is the stage with the most detail due to the need to rebuild what has been …show more content…
In this phase, the wound is rebuilt with new granulation tissue which consists of extracellular matrix and collagen, and new blood vessels develop. The granulation tissue depends on oxygen and nutrients produced by the blood vessels for a healthy healing process of the wound. The color of the granulation tissue can determine whether or not the wound is infected or healthy (Phases of Wound Healing, par 2). Next the epithelial cells resurface the wound to create a barrier between the wound and the environment. Once epithelialization has occurred and the wound is closed, it moves into the phase known as maturation or remodeling. In maturation or remodeling, the collagen is replaced and the cross fibers are rearranged, linked together and aligned along the tension lines (Wikipedia, Wound