Transforming Growth Factors (TGF) play a critical role in scar development and current research is investigating the manipulation of these TGFs for drug development to prevent scarring from the emergency (and rather inappropriate) adult wound healing process. An injury does not become a scar until the wound has completely healed. Because the body cannot re-build the tissue exactly as it was, the new scar tissue will have a different texture and quality than the surrounding normal tissue. To mend the damage, the body has to lay down new collagen fibres (a naturally occurring protein which is produced by the body). Scars form differently based on the location of the injury on the body and the age of the person who was injured. Various treatments can speed up the process in serious cases. The time it takes for it to go away may, however, range from a few days to, in some serious and rare cases, several years. The redness that often follows an injury to the skin is not a scar, and is generally not permanent.

Most skin scars are flat, pale and leave a trace of the original injury which caused them. The worse the damage is, the worse the scar will be. Skin scars occur when the deep, thick layer of skin (the dermis) is damaged. The word scar was derived from the Greek word eschara, meaning place of fire (fireplace).Ī scar is a natural part of the healing process.

bone) which can heal without any structural or functional deterioration, and in fact bone tissue may be structurally stronger after a break.Ī very minor scar from a cut to the forearm, approx. A myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, causes scar formation in the heart muscle which leads to loss of muscular power and possibly heart failure. For example, scars in the skin are less resistant to ultraviolet radiation, and sweat glands and hair follicles do not grow back within scar tissue. Scar tissue is not identical to the tissue which it replaces and is usually of inferior functional quality. after accident, disease, or surgery) results in some degree of scarring. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound (e.g. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. A scar results from the biologic process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Scars are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin (or other tissue) after injury. Risk calculators and risk factors for ScarĮditor-In-Chief: C.

US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Scar Articles on Scar in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ

Skin scar meaning