Healing of experimentally induced burn wounds. A comparative study of the healing of exposed burn wounds and burn wounds covered with adhesive zinc-tape and a scanning electron microscopic study of the microvasculature of wound healing in the rabbit ear.

Abstract

A comparative study of the healing of experimentally induced burn wounds on the inner side of the rabbit ear treated with either adhesive zinc-tape or exposure to the air is presented. During tape treatment, tissue necroses were dissolved, thus exposing the granulation tissue surface. In wounds treated with zinc-tape, fewer and smaller perforations to the opposite side of the ear were found, compared with those in exposed wounds. It is suggested that the frequency of perforations can be used as a simple measure of extension of tissue necroses after burning in relation to different methods of wound treatment. A microangiographic method is also presented for three-dimensional visualization of vascular events during healing using scanning electron microscopy on vascular casts.