wound

Introduction
Closed wounds
Open wounds

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Videos

Close-up of a person holding a child's hand with scabs on the fingers, gently cleaning the wounds with gauze.

At a Glance

wound summary

Quizzes

A Yorkshire terrier dressed up as a veterinarian or doctor on a white background. (dogs)

A Visit with the Word Doctor: Medical Vocabulary Quiz

44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes

Related Questions

How are abrasions caused by friction against rough surfaces?
How can poor circulation from arteriosclerosis affect wound repair?
How can sudden deceleration in vehicle accidents cause whiplash?
How can tension on wound edges interfere with healing?
How do bacterial contaminants differ from nonbacterial contaminants in wounds?
How do capillaries and epithelial cells contribute to wound repair?
How do moist wound dressings support healing in an open laceration?
How do open wounds differ from closed wounds?
How do platelets and fibrin help stop bleeding after a wound occurs?
How do primary intention and secondary intention healing differ?
How do sharp-object wounds differ from wounds caused by jagged fragments?
How do sutures differ from staples and adhesive tissue tape?
How do transparent semipermeable dressings help clinicians observe wounds?
How does a bruise form after a direct blow?
How does a hematoma differ from an ordinary bruise?
How does collagen increase a wound's strength during the proliferative phase?
How does fibrinolysis remove a fibrin clot after wound healing begins?
What are the four stages of the hemostatic process that stops bleeding?
What material is catgut suture made from?
What roles do fibroblasts and macrophages play during the migratory phase of wound healing?
When are skin grafts or flaps used to close a wound?
Which body areas are commonly affected by abrasions?
Which factors help surgeons choose a method for closing a wound?
Which methods besides sutures can be used to close a wound?
Why are facial sutures usually removed sooner than sutures on the trunk or legs?
Why are nylon sutures often preferred over silk sutures for skin wounds?
Why are staples faster but less precise than sutures?
Why can a fall on an outstretched hand cause a fracture elsewhere in the arm?
Why can contaminated wounds create a risk of tetanus?
Why do gravel and asphalt injuries require thorough wound cleaning?
Why do injuries to major blood vessels, nerves, joints, or internal organs increase the seriousness of a wound?
Why do scars often begin red and raised before fading?
Why does an adequate blood supply matter for wound healing?
Why is a surgical wound especially vulnerable to contamination during its first 24 hours?
Why is an open wound involving a broken bone especially serious?
Why is damaged muscle especially vulnerable to infection in an open wound?
Why is high-pressure saline irrigation used for contaminated wounds?
Why might a severe laceration damage muscle, bone, nerves, or internal organs?
Why might full-thickness lacerations cause more scarring than shallow lacerations?
What is a concussion?
What are common causes of concussions?
What are the symptoms of a concussion?
How common are concussions in soccer?
What is cholera?
How does cholera spread?
How is cholera treated?
How can cholera be prevented?
What is the seventh cholera pandemic?
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Health & Medicine Conditions & Diseases Trauma

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External Websites

The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne - Wound assessment and management
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - An update on wound management
Better Health Channel - Wounds - how to care for them
Johns Hopkins Medicine - Burns and Wounds
eMedicineHealth - Wound
DermNet - Wounds
Medicine LibreTexts - Wound Care

wound

medicine

Also known as: injury

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

wound, a break in the continuity of any bodily tissue due to violence, where violence is understood to encompass any action of external agency, including, for example, surgery. Within this general definition many subdivisions are possible, taking into account and grouping together the various forms of violence or tissue damage. The most important distinction is between open and closed wounds. Open wounds are those in which the protective body surface (the skin or mucous membranes)...

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