secondary intention
Chapter: 3
Wound healing by secondary intention occurs in gouge wounds, or in surgical wounds that are left to heal without approximating the edges. This is often done with bowel surgeries, where feces (i.e., anaerobes) may have contaminated the wound, such as with a ruptured appendix. The wound then "granulates in", or fills with granulation tissue from the bottom up. The epithelium then fills in over the top of the granulation tissue. The result is a large, wide, scar. However, wound infection is avoided. Occasionally, as in 3rd degree burns, a matrix or graft of skin must be layed down to allow the epithelium to fill in.
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