[Physiology of cutaneous cicatrization].

Cutaneous wound healing involves a well-coordinated cascade of cellular and molecular events in which biological processes such as proliferation, differentiation and cell migration play a key-role. Many different cell types including epithelial and mesenchymal cells are concerned. Cutaneous wound repair can be described as a three stages process: an initial inflammatory stage followed by a proliferative and repair phase ending by a remodeling stage, that overlap in time. A large number of diffusible factors (cytokines, growth factors ...) regulating these different stages have been characterized. Their therapeutic use is presently under investigation.