Collagen as a pharmacological approach in wound healing.

The authors have reviewed the most important biological mechanisms involved in wound healing, the main agents that modify the healing process and the physiological and pharmacological role of collagen. Putative mechanisms of collagen in wound repair are described with particular emphasis on haemostatic effect, interaction with platelets and fibronectin, properties of of increasing fluid exudate and its cellular component (macrophages) and the "scaffold" role for fibroblastic proliferation. Experimental and clinical data clearly suggest that the potential use of collagen in wound repair and its main therapeutical applications: treatment chronic leg ulcers and pressure sores, burns, urological surgery, gynaecological surgery, dentistry and oral surgery, reconstructive surgery, abdominal and vascular surgery, orthopaedy.