A Survey of Plants Used for Wound Healing in Animals

Abstract

A wound can be defined as a break in the continuity of the soft tissues like skin, mucous membranes, tissue surfaces etc. caused by physical, chemical or biological insult. Wound can also be called as a traumatic lesion. Broadly, wounds are classified into two categories: 1) External wounds 2) Internal wounds.

An external wound is one with a varying degree of damage to the tissue including skin e.g., incised wounds, lacerated wounds punctured wounds, penetrating wounds, perforating wounds gunshot wounds, abrasions, avulsions or evulsions. An internal wound damages the underlying tissue to varying degree leaving the skin intact e.g., contusions, bruises, and hematomas.

Two basic objectives are the guiding principles for wound healing: A) The rapid and completed repair of the created defect and, B) The Prevention of bacterial invasion during the period the natural barriers are defective. Although these principles appear to be separate goals they are impossible to attain separately in the clinical care of wounds. For practical purposes, the maneuvers employed to promote rapid wound healing are so intimately related to prevention of bacterial invasion, in fact so dependent on it, that a major portion of energy directed toward the optimal wounds healing is expended in the direction of prevention of bacterial infection.