Repair of Wounds of the Mucosa in the Rectum of the Cat

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Wound healing in the rectum of the cat has been studied following the creation of artificial ulcers by removing small areas of mucosa. During the first few days of the repair process epithelial cells migrated from the wound margins over the floor of the ulcer, in which granulation tissue began to accumulate. Mitotic figures were occasionally found in migrating epithelium. The striated borders of normal epithelial cells gave a strong reaction for alkaline phosphatase and were PAS-positive. These reactions were not present during migration in the early stages of repair. Glycogen granules, not normally detectable histochemically in this epithelium, were found in migrating cells at the end of the first week. The pattern of healing at later stages showed considerable variation, according to the amount of granulation tissue formed. Where the amount of such tissue was relatively small, increasing epithelialization occurred, with evidence of new crypt formation; where granulation tissue was exuberant, the margins of the original lesion may have been drawn together by the contraction of maturing connective tissue. Alkaline phosphatase was absent from the developing and maturing connective tissue.