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28.9: Key Terms

  • Page ID
    111582
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    angiogenesis
    creation of new blood vessels
    approximated
    brought close together, as in the case of wounds with sealed, clean edges
    autolytic debridement
    process of using the body’s intrinsic debriding mechanism to remove nonviable tissue
    avascular
    lacking blood vessels
    biological debridement
    use of sterile bottle fly larvae to remove nonviable tissue; also known as maggot larval therapy (MT)
    Braden Scale
    risk assessment tool with six criteria for determining the risk of skin breakdown
    comprehensive wound assessment
    complete, holistic, written, and visual record of the wound’s current status and progress
    dehiscence
    separation of the edges of a surgical wound
    dermal-epidermal junction
    barrier between the epidermis and the dermis, which ensures strong resistance to physical stress
    desiccation
    excessive dryness in the periwound
    enzymatic debridement
    selective method of debridement that uses an exogenous enzyme known as collagenase; also known as chemical debridement
    epibole
    severely rolled wound edges
    epithelialization
    regeneration of the epidermis and the formation of granulation tissue
    full-thickness wound
    injury extending through all skin layers, potentially involving muscle, fascia, or bone
    granulation tissue
    new connective tissue with fragile, thin-walled capillaries
    hematoma
    area of blood that collects outside large blood vessels
    hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)
    therapy in which patients breathe pure oxygen in a pressurized environment to help wound progression and healing
    hypergranulation
    excess granulation tissue filling the wound bed beyond the height of the surface of the wound
    hypodermis
    layer of fat and connective tissue that links skin to the underlying structures
    inflammation
    second phase of wound healing, characterized by the movement of white blood cells to the wound bed
    keratinocyte
    cell that participates in the contraction and migration of cells across a wound bed to facilitate healing
    maceration
    excessive presence of moisture in the periwound, which affects the integrity of the surrounding skin
    mechanical debridement
    nonselective type of debridement that applies physical force to remove necrotic tissue
    necrotic tissue
    avascular debris that can appear as eschar, slough, or biofilm
    negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT)
    therapeutic technique that applies negative pressure to the wound bed to manage exudate and facilitate healing
    Norton Scale
    risk assessment tool with five criteria for determining the risk of skin breakdown
    partial-thickness wound
    superficial injury that involves the epidermis, dermis, or both
    periwound
    skin surrounding a wound
    pressure injury
    localized damage to the skin and underlying soft tissue, typically over a bony prominence or the site upon which a medical device was placed
    primary intention
    healing of a wound with clean, approximated edges
    proliferation
    third phase of wound healing, characterized by epithelialization, angiogenesis, collagen formation, and contraction
    remodeling
    final phase of wound healing, characterized by regrowth and reorganization of collagen
    secondary intention
    healing of a wound from the “bottom up,” due to edges that cannot be approximated
    senescent cell
    nonfunctioning cell that has stopped dividing but has not died
    slough
    fibrinous necrotic tissue located on top of the wound bed; characterized as loose or stringy and yellow or tan
    surgical debridement
    use of a scalpel, forceps, curette, scissors, or other instruments to remove necrotic tissue from the wound base; also known as sharp debridement
    tertiary intention
    plan to delay healing while the wound remains open
    tunneling
    formation of a sinus tract under any part of a wound’s edge
    undermining
    erosion of tissue under the edges of a wound

    This page titled 28.9: Key Terms is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax.

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