What is the correct sequence of wound healing stages?

• A. Proliferation, inflammation, maturation/remodeling.
• B. Inflammation, maturation/remodeling, proliferation.
• C. Inflammation, proliferation, maturation/remodeling.
• D. Maturation/remodeling, inflammation, proliferation.

Answer: (C)

The sequence of wound healing stages is what this item tests. After injury, the inflammatory phase begins right away, with blood clotting and immune cells like neutrophils and macrophages cleaning debris and releasing signals that start repair. This sets the stage for the proliferative phase, where new tissue forms: fibroblasts lay down collagen, granulation tissue develops with new blood vessels, and the wound gradually closes as edges contract. Finally, the maturation or remodeling phase reorganizes the new tissue, strengthens the scar by replacing some of the initial collagen (often type III) with stronger type I, and the tensile strength gradually increases over weeks to months, though it never fully matches normal skin. So the correct order is inflammation, then proliferation, then maturation/remodeling. Sequences that start with remodeling or with proliferation before inflammation aren’t consistent with how healing is coordinated, since debris clearance and cleanup by the inflammatory response are necessary before robust tissue formation can occur.