Identification of the depth of burn injury by collagen stainability.

Heat-denatured collagen in burned skin stains red instead of blue in Masson's trichrome stain. This change in stainability corresponds to the loss of birefringence in slides examined in polarized light. The depth of the abnormal staining of the skin slices was proportional to the time and temperature of the heat exposure. It is concluded that the change in collagen stainability from blue to red relates to the loss of crystallinity or parallel alignment of the collagen fibers. It is further proposed that change in the stainability of collagen in the burns could be used to delineate the depth of the thermal skin injury or the effectiveness of the surgical excision or debridement of the wound by dressing materials.