Dr. George D. Winter (1927-1981) was the British-born pioneer of moist
wound
A wound is a rapid onset of injury that involves laceration, lacerated or puncture wound, punctured skin (an ''open'' wound), or a bruise, contusion (a ''closed'' wound) from blunt force physical trauma, trauma or compression. In pathology, a '' ...
healing. In 1962, while working at the Department of Biomechanics and Surgical Materials at the
University of London, Winter published his landmark
Nature 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) 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 film to keep them hydrated. The latter wounds healed faster, as measured by the migration of new
epithelium
Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellul ...
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 Societie ...
and has an annual award named after him.
1927 births
1981 deaths
Academics of the University of London
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