DELAYED-EFFECT OF DENERVATION ON WOUND CONTRACTION IN RAT SKIN

Neuronal supply in soft tissues may be an important part of cutaneous wound healing. In order to observe the effect of denervation on wound contraction, rectangular full-thickness skin defects were created on t he dorsum of two groups of Wistar rats. In the experimental group (n = 20), spinal nerves corresponding to the area of the open wound (T11 t o L2) were isolated and divided bilaterally. In the control group (n = 20), the same pairs of spinal nerves were dissected but left intact. Limits of denervation were verified by the pinprick test. Wound healin g, which is primarily in the form of wound contraction in this model, was evaluated by tracing wound margins onto millimetric paper weekly. Wound contraction was delayed significantly in the experimental group (p < 0.05) at all follow-up periods when compared with the controls. L oss of neuropeptide secretion from the nerve endings in denervated tis sues may be responsible for the retarded wound contraction, since neur opeptides are thought to exert trophic effects on skin wound healing.