Fibronectin, Wound Contraction, and Epithelialization

To the Editor.—  In the February issue of the Archives, Cheng et al,¹ describe the effectiveness of topically applied fibronectin (FN) in the healing of full-thickness wounds in rats. By measuring the area (in square millimeters) of wounds on the backs of rats, they concluded that FN suspended in Orabase significantly accelerated wound healing. We feel that several aspects of their evaluation require further consideration.The first point relates to the role of wound contraction in the healing of the full-thickness wound in their rat model. Cheng et al conclude that the accelerated wound healing observed was due to accelerated epithelialization rather than accelerated contraction. This conclusion rests on the premise that contraction is not an important element for the healing of circular wounds. They do note the importance of contraction in healing irregular or rectangular wounds and, as stated in the "Standard Lesions" section of their article, an