A Current View of Functional Biomaterials for Wound Care, Molecular and Cellular Therapies

Figure 1

Overview of the wound healing process. The injury is immediately followed by hemostasis, which is characterized by reduced blood flow, platelet aggregation, and initiation of the inflammatory process. During the inflammation response, cells migrate to the wound and release growth factors. In a later stage of the wound healing process, the proliferation stage, angiogenesis is followed by deposition of collagen and the formation of granulation tissue. Finally, collagen fibers align in the remodeling stage and cells that have fulfilled their wound healing function enter apoptosis.