Wound

This article is about wounds in humans and other animals. For other uses, see Wound (disambiguation).

Wound
Hand abrasion resulting from a bicycle accident
Specialty

A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs.[1][2] Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying disease processes such as diabetes mellitus, venous/arterial insufficiency, or immunologic disease.[3] Wounds can vary greatly in their appearance depending on wound location, injury mechanism, depth of injury, timing of onset (acute vs chronic), and wound sterility, among other factors.[1][2] Treatment strategies for wounds will vary based on the classification of the wound, therefore it is essential that wounds be thoroughly evaluated by a healthcare professional for proper management. In normal physiology, all wounds will undergo a series of steps collectively known as the wound healing process, which include hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and tissue remodeling. Age, tissue oxygenation, stress, underlying medical conditions, and certain medications are just a few of the many factors known to affect the rate of wound healing.[4]

  1. ^ a b Nagle SM, Stevens KA, Wilbraham SC (2023). "Wound Assessment". StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. PMID 29489199. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b Herman TF, Bordoni B (2023). "Wound Classification". StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. PMID 32119343. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  3. ^ Kujath P, Michelsen A (March 2008). "Wounds - from physiology to wound dressing". Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. 105 (13): 239–248. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2008.0239. PMC 2696775. PMID 19629204.
  4. ^ Guo S, Dipietro LA (March 2010). "Factors affecting wound healing". Journal of Dental Research. 89 (3): 219–229. doi:10.1177/0022034509359125. PMC 2903966. PMID 20139336.