THE ORIGIN OF THE NEWLY FORMED EPIDERMAL CELLS DURING THE PROCESS OF WOUND-HEALING OF THE RABBIT'S EAR / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

The tip of the external ear of the rabbit was cut off with one pair of unsterilizedscissors. The newly formed epidermal cells at the site of the wound were examined atdifferent stages during the healing process with ordinary, special and vital staining methods.It was found that in the neighborhood of the growing epidermis, various kinds of connectivetissue elements, including leucocytes, collagenous fibers, macrophages, cartilages, etc., werebroken up into structureless debris of different sizes and forms. These debris graduallytransformed into newly formed naked nuclei, connecting with the previously formedepidermal cells, and these newly formed naked nuclei progressively developed into newlyformed epidermal cells. There was no evidence of mitotic division among the newly formed epidermis butit may be found in the previously formed region. The possibility of the identity of theseconnective tissue debris with the so-called "the living substance" and their transformationinto newly formed cells was discussed.