Excised skin wounds in rodents heal largely by contraction. The mechanism of this is disputed but it would appear to be the result of an inward pull on the skin edges by a force generated in the granulation tissue. Using a technique for demonstrating acid mucopolysaccharides on electron microscopy a change has been described in the organisation of the newly formed extracellular components in wounds, which suggests that contraction may result from the physico-chemical arrangement of these. This and other theories about contraction are discussed.
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