Dr. George D. Winter (1927–1981) was the British-born pioneer of moist

wound A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...

healing. In 1962, while working at the Department of Biomechanics and Surgical Materials at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, Winter published his landmark

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

paper ''Formation of the scab and the rate of epithelisation of superficial wounds in the skin of the young domestic pig'' (Nature 193:293 1962)WINTER GD. Formation of the scab and the rate of epithelization of superficial wounds in the skin of the young domestic pig. Nature. 1962 Jan 20;193:293-4. . PMID 14007593. where he demonstrated that, contrary to the conventional wisdom that wounds should be allowed to dry out and form scabs to promote healing, wounds instead healed faster if kept moist. Winter formed multiple partial thickness wounds on the backs of pigs, half left open to the air and half covered with a

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

film to keep them hydrated. The latter wounds healed faster, as measured by the migration of new

epithelium Epithelium or epithelial tissue is a thin, continuous, protective layer of cells with little extracellular matrix. An example is the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Epithelial ( mesothelial) tissues line the outer surfaces of man ...

on the wound bed. This work began the evolution of modern wound dressings that promote moist wound healing. George D. Winter was the first president of the

European Society for Biomaterials The European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) is a non-profit organisation that encourages research and spread of information regarding research and uses of biomaterials. Founded in March 1976, became a member of the International Union of Societies ...

and has an annual award named after him.

References

1927 births 1981 deaths Academics of the University of London {{UK-med-bio-stub