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I never tire of watching epithelium “think.”
This lady had an open fracture of the ankle. The dorsal foot wound (where hardware was placed) separated and as the sough was debrided, enlarged. Then granulation begins to fill the defect.
Then an amazing thing happens. A triangular area of epithelium begins to bisect the wound. Epithelium can only grow from the margins on the foot, and turning one wound into two smaller wounds speeds this up.
The epithelium continues to fill half the wound. The other end of the wound fills with granulation and then ANOTHER ridge of epithelium divides the wound again. And it’s as if the edges of epithelium reach out to touch each other.