Wound contraction. A quantitative interpretation.

The behavior of dressed excisional wounds in a number of species (man, rabbit, rat and mouse) has been analysed. The change in wound area with time due to contraction was found to be consistent with a constant linear rate of movement of the wound margins. The linear rate of movement of the wound margins is shown to be an appropriate parameter for the quantitative comparison of rates of contraction. This parameter can be calculated from the slope of the (area)1/2 versus time plots.