Nutrition and wound healing.

The relationship between host nutrition and wound healing has been the subject of study and experimentation for centuries. Despite the many years of study and a substantial knowledge base of the specific processes and factors involved, wound healing remains enigmatic. There is still much to learn about the wound-specific nutritional interventions that are available to improve wound healing. Nutrition profoundly influences the process of wound healing. Nutritional depletion exerts an inhibitory effect, and nutritional supplementation with such positive effectors as arginine can stimulate wound healing. Within this paradigm, the physician should be able to recognize patients who may be expected to have wound healing difficulties and offer early intervention to avoid wound failure.