What is Scar?
Posted on:1/5/2006
| A scar results from the biologic process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. |
Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound (e.g. after accident, disease, or surgery) results in some degree of scarring.
Scar tissue is not identical to the tissue which it replaces and is usually of inferior functional quality. For example, scars in the skin are less resistant to ultraviolet radiation, and sweat glands and hair follicles do not grow back within scar tissue, myocardial infarction causes scar formation in the heart muscle which leads to loss of muscular power and possibly heart failure. However, there are some tissues (e.g. bone) which can heal without any structural or functional deterioration.
Scar after recent surgery on the left forearm
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