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How Do Cuts Heal?

This Science Minute was researched and written by Mariko A., Ithaca.

Have you ever gotten a cut that heals miraculously? Were you thinking about what was happening under your skin? It’s a process that happens under your skin day by day.

Your body is always fighting off harmful things. To stop a cut from bleeding, vasoconstriction saves the day. The veins that flow to your cut tighten, causing the blood to cease flowing. Next, a fibrin net slides over the cut and sticky substances called platelets stick to the sides of the net and plug the cut.

Now you need to stop the infection. White blood cells eat up the germs under the scab. Fibroblasts produce a collagen to fill the cut with oxygen-rich blood, recovering the wound. The flesh surrounding the cut thickens and takes the space of the cut. The sides meet, creating a scar.

Now you know what is happening under your skin!