A client has been brought to the emergency department with a large, gaping wound from a farming accident. The client is critically ill and has required blood products and surgery to clean and close the wound

Question

Sharing with a student nurse the steps in wound healing, the nurse discusses the inflammatory phase, stating macrophages: Select all that apply.
A) Release growth factors that stimulate epithelial cell growth
B) Facilitate the body's ability to grow new vessels in the injured area
C) Remove debris from the wound
D) Synthesize and secrete collagen
E) Proliferate to form the granulation tissue to serve as a foundation for scar tissue to form

Answer 1

Ans: A, B, C
Feedback:
Within 24 to 48 hours, macrophages, which are larger phagocytic cells, enter the wound area and remain for an extended period. These cells, arising from blood monocytes, are essential to the healing process. Their functions include phagocytosis and release of growth factors that stimulate epithelial cell growth, angiogenesis, and attraction of fibroblasts. When a large wound occurs in deeper tissues, neutrophils and macrophages are required to remove the debris and facilitate closure. Although a wound may heal in the absence of neutrophils, it cannot heal in the absence of macrophages. In the proliferative phase, the fibroblasts synthesize and secrete collagen and other intercellular elements needed for wound healing. Fibroblasts also produce numerous growth factors that induce angiogenesis and endothelial cell proliferation and migration.