Healing of incisional wounds in stomach and duodenum. A biomechanical study

The healing pattern of incisional wounds in the rat stomach and duodenum was determined. A model allowing the biomechanical determinations of complete load-deformation curves is described. Wounds were made in the nonglandular (rumen) and glandular oxyntic (corpus) parts of the stomach and in duodenum. The wounds were tested 5 to 40 days after operation. Of the intact tissues the nonglandular part of the stomach was found to be more extensible and required more energy to be ruptured than the glandular part of the stomach and duodenum. The healing wounds in the glandular part of the stomach and duodenum showed the most rapid increase in mechanical strength, and after 40 days both required more energy to be ruptured than intact tissue. Wounds in the nonglandular part of the stomach reached only 75% of intact strength value after 40 days. The process of wound healing resulted in an increase in tissue stiffness. These findings indicate that wound healing in stomach and duodenum is more rapid than that in most other tissues and that the load-strain data give a detailed picture of the healing process. The energy required to rupture a wound represents the most informative assessment of wound healing.