Tissue healing

Tissue healing, also called wound healing or tissue repair, is a dynamic, multi-stage process by which tissues restore their structure and function after injury[1][2][3][4][6][7]. Tissue healing in mammals is classically divided into a series of overlapping phases: hemostasis (clotting), inflammation (immune cell recruitment and debris clearance), proliferation (cell migration, angiogenesis, extracellular matrix deposition, and re-epithelialization), and remodeling (matrix reorganization and scar tissue formation)[1][3][4][6]. Numerous cell types (including keratinocytes, fibroblasts, macrophages, endothelial cells, platelets, and others) and molecular mediators (cytokines, growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins, and metalloproteinases) coordinate to effect these processes[1][2][3][4][7]. Failure or dysregulation of tissue healing mechanisms can result in chronic wounds, excessive scarring, or fibrosis[4][6][7]. Tissue healing is a biomedical focus, but it is not itself an actionable drug target—therapeutic strategies typically aim at individual molecular mediators, growth factors, receptors, or pathways involved in the constituent steps of the healing process rather than "tissue healing" as a singular molecular entity[1][4][7].

Other names

Wound healingTissue repairRegenerationTissue regeneration