Abstract

Combined radiation and wound injury (CRWI) occurs in nuclear attacks andsevere nuclear accidents. The possibility of radiological terrorist attack further emphasizes the significanceof studies on CRWI. This kind of skin wound is very complex and difficult to heal since a high dose oftotal-body irradiation could delay wound healing and cause bone marrow dysplasia. Since the 1990s, thestudy of impaired wound healing due to total-body irradiation (TBI) has been emphasized in China. Inthis article, the pathological basis of the wound-healing process after TBI are reviewed and experimentalmanagement using traditional agents, growth factors, stem cells, and allo-skin transplantation in thiskind of healing-impaired wound is also discussed.

Keywords: Growth Substances - metabolism, Skin Diseases - therapy, Skin Transplantation, Stem Cells - physiology, Whole-Body Irradiation - adverse effects, Wound Healing - radiation effects