[Healing of infected wounds after diathermic and scalpel cuts into the abdominal wall in rabbits (author's transl)].

The course of wound healing and the spreading of infection was investigated through a comparative procedure with 30 rabbits. We performed a laparotomy with diathermy and scalpel, afterward injecting a solution of 6 X 10(10) Staphylococcus aureus in the subcutis. The histological preparation and semiquantitative evaluation of the laparotomy wounds were performed on postoperative days 3, 7, and 14. On day 3, a clear infiltration of macrophages could already be observed in the scalpel wound, while in the diathermy wound more necrosis could be seen. On day 7, the muscle of wounds inflicted by scalpel was infiltrated with granulocytes and monocytes. In those by diathermy, the necrosis was filled with fibroblasts. On postoperative day 14, no histological difference could be seen between the two proceedings: in the subcutis, there is an abscess enveloped in a connective tissue wall; the cutis and the muscle show new scar tissue.