When your skin gets a cut, the broken blood vessels immediately become very narrow. This stops excessive bleeding and helps to keep germs out of the blood. Then substances released into the blood cause it to clot. The blood clot holds the edges of the wound together and hardens into a protective scab.

             Meanwhile white blood cells called neutrophils rush to the wound and begin to engulf the invading germs of dangerous bacteria. Then larger white cells called monocytes appear and engulf more germs, together with any debris. Any germs that escape are dealt with by a third kind of white cells called lymphocytes. These recognize germs as being ‘foreign protein’ or antigens. Then they start the production of antibodies, which are protein substances that stop germs working.

                      In the lower layer (the dermis) of the skin, special cells called fibroblasts move into the wound and start producing new tissues. These new tissues are essential for the healing of the wound. In the upper layer (epidermis), the cells around the wound start multiplying and filling the gap. When the process of new skin tissue development beneath the scab is nearly complete, the scab falls off. In this way the wound gets healed.