EUROPEAN  TISSUE  REPAIR  SOCIETY

INTERESTING WOUND HEALING ENQUIRIES

The following letter was received concerning the 'work of angels' associated with the healing of wounds during the First World War. I wonder if any of our members might have an explanation and would be kind enough to e-mail Jerry Dzikowski at:

jerrydzikowski@hotmail.com

Also we should like to publish your thoughts on this in the next issue of the ETRS Bulletin. In the late 60s we described the ultraviolet red fluorescence of bacteroides melaninogenicus, an anaerobe found in leg ulcers (Applied Microbiology, May 1969, 760-762) Although bacteroides melaninogenicus is present in wounds exposed to the air, particularly dead tissue, we never associated this with healing. However, in experimental studies we were unable to demonstrate any adverse effect on healing per se and found that we could only grow this anaerobe in avascular tissue. I hope that you will be able to provide Jerry Dzikowski with an answer to his enquiry.

Dear Dr Cherry

I am a biology major in university, eventually hoping to do my post-graduate studies in Dental Medicine. My query is as follows, and I was wondering if you or somebody else could help me.

Recently in a discussion of wounds and injuries from World War I with some classmates, I mentioned a story I heard about a particular wound and treatment from World War I. The soldiers called it angel glow or something like that because the wound would glow in the dark and then like a miracle would get better and heal. The soldiers not knowing any better, or for no better logical explanation called it a work of angels. Now the explanation I heard was that there was a chemical reaction on the wound, perhaps with something put on it, whereby the reaction would exhibit phosphorescence or bio-luminescence (glowing in the dark). This reaction would produce antibiotics as a by-product and therefore the wound would actually heal, better said, the glowing or bio-luminescence was a by-product of the reaction. I am not sure if it was indeed the First World War, or even a war before that, that this was observed, perhaps the Crimea War? I am also not sure how the soldiers described the phenomenon, as the work of Angels or some other supernatural force. Perhaps you or someone else could shed some light on the matter?… No pun intended…

Sincerely
Jerry Dzikowski

Creighton University
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
<jerrydzikowski@hotmail.com>