Wound healing in the tissues of the periodontium following periradicular surgery. III. The osseous excisional wound.

Excisional wounds were made in the maxillas and mandibles of rhesus monkeys, and the osseous wound-healing responses at postsurgical intervals ranging from 1 to 28 days were evaluated by light microscopy. The excisional defects were initially filled with a coagulum which was subsequently replaced by granulation tissue emanating from the endosteal tissues. Cortical and trabecular bone forming the wound edges was devitalized, as evidenced by an absence of osteocytes in the peripheral lacunae. At 14 days postsurgery, woven bone trabeculae occupied most of the defect, with the more superficial trabeculae in direct contact with a thick band of dense fibrous connective tissue separating the osseous defect from overlying mucosal tissues. Within the defect, new bone was deposited on devitalized bone without evidence of preceding osteoclastic activity. At 28 days, the woven bone trabeculae were more mature and a functioning periosteum was now active in repair of the cortical plate.