Biomarkers of Wound Healing

The prevalence of conditions that eventually result in poor wound healing abounds as humans advance in age. With the increased possibility of wounds not healing comes a leap in morbidity and mortality with its accompanying socioeconomic impact. It is therefore relevant to understand what accounts for aberrant wound healing and more importantly the molecular markers involved in this pathological state. There are known events associated with the wound healing process, spanning from cellular involvement to the role of specific proteins such as cytokines and growth factors that are significant biomarkers in the wound healing process. This chapter discusses biomarkers relevant to the wound healing process, and these biomarkers go a long way to help identify and stratify nonhealing patients for whom biomarker-guided approaches may be of importance clinically in their management