Ongoing research is opening up our understanding of wound healing and the pathogenesis of the mechanisms of chronic versus acute wound healing.
All wounds heal using a combination of three mechanisms.
In each wound one of the three mechanisms predominates. The three mechanisms of wound healing are contraction, epithelialization, and connective tissue deposition. Contraction is the major method by which would healing occurs at an amputation site such as the tip of a finger. Epithelialization predominates in the healing of abrasions and connective tissue deposition occurs when lacerations are sutured closed. The stages of healing are hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodeling.