Case Study 4
Inflammation, Tissue Repair, and Wound Healing
Carlton, a six-year-old boy, was playing on a sandy
beach with his mother. He began to run along the
shoreline when he stepped on the sharp edge of a
shell, giving himself a deep cut on his foot. His mother
washed his foot in the lake and put on his running
shoe to take him home. One day later, Carlton’s foot
looked worse. The gash was red and painful. The
foot was warm to touch and appeared swollen. Carlton’s
mom put some gauze over the wound and prepared to
take him to the local community health clinic.
1. What is the physiologic mechanism causing the
wound to become red, hot, swollen, and painful? How
is this different than the inflammatory response
that might occur in an internal organ?
2. What are the immunologic events that are
happening at the local level during Carlton’s acute
inflammatory response?
3. Nutrition plays an important factor in wound
healing. What stages of wound healing would be affected
by a deficiency in vitamins A and C?
