Partial-thickness wounds differ from full-thickness wounds in tissue involvement and typical healing by primary or secondary intention. Which option accurately describes these differences?

Partial-thickness wounds differ from full-thickness wounds in tissue involvement and typical healing by primary or secondary intention. Which option accurately describes these differences?

• A. Partial-thickness wounds involve epidermis and possibly superficial dermis and heal by re-epithelialization with minimal scarring (often primary intention). Full-thickness wounds extend into subcutaneous tissue or deeper and heal by granulation, contraction, and scar formation (often secondary intention).
• B. Partial-thickness wounds extend into subcutaneous tissue; Full-thickness wounds heal by re-epithelialization.
• C. Partial-thickness heal by re-epithelialization and scar; Full-thickness heal by immediate closure without scar.
• D. Partial-thickness require grafting; Full-thickness heal without scarring.

Answer: (A)

Depth of tissue injury drives how a wound heals and the kind of scar that forms. Partial-thickness wounds involve the epidermis and possibly the upper dermis, leaving the deeper dermal structures intact. They heal mainly by re-epithelialization from the remaining epidermal cells and skin appendages, which tends to produce minimal scarring and often closes with primary intention when the edges can come together. Full-thickness wounds extend through the dermis into subcutaneous tissue or deeper, so they heal by filling with granulation tissue, contracting the wound, and forming a scar—more often by secondary intention because the edges can’t readily approximate. That’s why this description matches: partial-thickness with re-epithelialization and minimal scarring, often primary; full-thickness with granulation, contraction, and scar formation, often secondary. The other options misstate the depth or the healing process—for example, partial-thickness extending into subcutaneous tissue or healing by immediate closure without scar are not correct, and partial-thickness grafting isn’t typically required.

Depth of tissue injury drives how a wound heals and the kind of scar that forms. Partial-thickness wounds involve the epidermis and possibly the upper dermis, leaving the deeper dermal structures intact. They heal mainly by re-epithelialization from the remaining epidermal cells and skin appendages, which tends to produce minimal scarring and often closes with primary intention when the edges can come together. Full-thickness wounds extend through the dermis into subcutaneous tissue or deeper, so they heal by filling with granulation tissue, contracting the wound, and forming a scar—more often by secondary intention because the edges can’t readily approximate.

That’s why this description matches: partial-thickness with re-epithelialization and minimal scarring, often primary; full-thickness with granulation, contraction, and scar formation, often secondary. The other options misstate the depth or the healing process—for example, partial-thickness extending into subcutaneous tissue or healing by immediate closure without scar are not correct, and partial-thickness grafting isn’t typically required.