SBA — Single Best Answer · Review
Question 428
Pathology → General
Classification
Question
SSBAQuestion Header
A clean wound has entered the proliferative phase. Histology shows numerous newly formed capillaries and proliferating fibroblasts within loose extracellular matrix. Which process is principally responsible for subsequent formation of the mature scar?
Question Stem
Select the single best answer.
Options
A
Persistent neutrophil accumulation
B
Epithelioid transformation of macrophages
C
Fibroblast synthesis of collagen and mucopolysaccharides
D
Continued mast-cell degranulation
E
Replacement of fibroblasts by skeletal muscle cells
Explanation
Capillary budding and fibroplasia produce vascular granulation tissue. Fibroblasts synthesize collagen and mucopolysaccharides, with subsequent maturation producing an increasingly acellular and avascular scar.
Option Validity
A) Neutrophils are important early inflammatory cells but do not produce the mature scar.
B) Epithelioid macrophages are characteristic of granulomatous inflammation rather than normal scar formation.
D) Mast-cell mediators participate in inflammation but are not the principal structural mechanism of scar formation.
E) Skeletal muscle cells do not replace fibroblasts during normal wound repair.
Further Reading
Saxena R. Textbook for MRCOG-1. Chapter 5: Pathology. General Pathology, pp.161–175.