A mathematical analysis of physiological and morphological aspects of wound closure.

A computational algorithm to study the evolution of complex wound morphologies is developed based on a model of wound closure by cell mitosis and migration due to Adam [Math Comput Model 30(5-6):23-32, 1999]. A detailed analysis of the model provides estimated values for the incubation and healing times. Furthermore, a set of inequalities are defined which demarcate conditions of complete, partial and non-healing. Numerical results show a significant delay in the healing progress whenever diffusion of the epidermic growth factor responsible for cell mitosis is slower than cell migration. Results for general wound morphologies show that healing is always initiated at regions with high curvatures and that the evolution of the wound is very sensitive to physiological parameters.