What are the three phases of the healing process?

The three phases of the healing process—Inflammatory, Proliferative, and Remodeling—provide a comprehensive framework for understanding how tissues recover from injury.

During the inflammatory phase, which is the first response to injury, the body initiates a cascade of biological events to clear out damaged cells and prevent infection. This phase includes vasodilation and increased permeability of blood vessels, allowing immune cells to access the injured area.

The proliferative phase follows, focusing on tissue formation and repair. New tissue, primarily composed of collagen and extracellular matrix, is generated to replace the lost or damaged tissue. This phase also involves the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) to support the healing tissue with adequate oxygen and nutrients.

Finally, in the remodeling phase, the newly formed tissue undergoes a process of maturation and reorganization. The collagen fibers are realigned and cross-linked to enhance the strength and functionality of the healed area. This phase can last for months to years, leading to improved structural integrity of the tissue.

Other options mentioned, like Acute, Chronic, and Remodeling or Fibroblastic, Vascular, and Maturational, do not accurately encapsulate the stages of healing as they either mislabel existing phases or introduce terms not typically