1;Preface;6 2;Contents;8 3;I Principles of ChronicWound Pathology, Pathomechanics and Healing Response;8 3.1;Fundamentals of Pressure, Shear and Friction and Their Effects on the Human Body at Supported Postures;11 3.1.1;Introduction;12 3.1.2;Terms and Definitions;12 3.1.2.1;Bursae;12 3.1.2.2;Mechanical Load;14 3.1.3;The Human Body;17 3.1.3.1;The Skeletal System;17 3.1.3.2;The Skin;17 3.1.3.3;Mechanical Properties of the Skin;19 3.1.3.4;Conclusion;21 3.1.4;The Effects of Mechanical Load on the Body;21 3.1.4.1;Contact with the Body;21 3.1.4.2;Reactions of the Body to Mechanical Load;23 3.1.4.3;Comfort, Discomfort and Pain;29 3.1.4.4;Pain;32 3.1.4.5;Conclusions;34 3.1.5;Body Support Surfaces;34 3.1.5.1;Solid;35 3.1.5.2;Liquid;35 3.1.5.3;Air;36 3.1.5.4;Conclusion;36 3.1.6;Conclusions;36 3.1.7;References;37 3.2;Mechanobiology of Cutaneous Wound Healing and Scarring;41 3.2.1;Introduction;41 3.2.2;Mechanobiology of Cutaneous Wound Healing;41 3.2.3;Conclusions;49 3.2.4;References;50 3.3;Cell Migration along the Basement Membrane during Wound Repair. The Corneal Endothelium as a Model System;53 3.3.1;Introduction;53 3.3.2;The Vertebrate Corneal Endothelium;55 3.3.3;Organ Cultured Corneal Endothelium as a Model System;58 3.3.4;Cell Proliferation Is a Component of Endothelial Wound Repair;62 3.3.5;Migratory Response of Corneal Endothelial Cells during Wound Repair;64 3.3.6;Eicosanoids and Injury-Induced Endothelial Cell Movement;70 3.3.7;Actin Cytoskeletal Changes Accompanying Cell Migration;71 3.3.8;Matrix Proteins and Endothelial Wound Repair;78 3.3.9;Summary and Conclusion;83 3.3.10;References;84 3.4;The Importance of the Microenvironment of Support Surfaces in the Prevalence of Pressure Ulcers;95 3.4.1;Introduction;95 3.4.1.1;Pressure Ulcer Prevalence and Incidence, Economic Cost;95 3.4.1.2;Current Definition of PU;96 3.4.1.3;Major Factors;96 3.4.1.4;Current Methods/Procedures to Prevent PUs;96 3.4.2;Relationship between the Prevalence of Pressure Ulcers and Interface Pressures;97 3.4.3;Microenvironment;99 3.4.3.1;What Constitutes Microenvironment?;99 3.4.3.2;Shear Stress;100 3.4.3.3;Pressure;101 3.4.3.4;Friction;105 3.4.3.5;Moisture;107 3.4.4;Summary and Conclusion;108 3.4.4.1;Areas for Future Research;108 3.4.5;References;108 4;II Mathematical Modeling of Chronic Wounds and Wound Healing;8 4.1;Partial Differential Equations for Modelling Wound Geometry;111 4.1.1;Introduction;111 4.1.2;Elliptic Partial Differential Equations for Shape Modelling;115 4.1.2.1;Classification of Partial Differential Equations;116 4.1.2.2;The Biharmonic Equation;117 4.1.2.3;The Solution of the Biharmonic Equation;118 4.1.3;Modelling Wound Geometry;119 4.1.3.1;Examples of PDE Geometry;123 4.1.3.2;Modelling Geometry of Wound Shapes;124 4.1.4;Measuring Properties of Wounds;128 4.1.4.1;Surface Area and Volume of the Wound Shape;128 4.1.4.2;Mass Properties of the Wound;129 4.1.5;An Example of Wound Modelling;130 4.1.6;Conclusions and Future Work;132 4.1.7;References;133 4.2;A Suite of Continuum Models for Different Aspects in Wound Healing;136 4.2.1;Introduction;136 4.2.2;Methodology;140 4.2.2.1;The Fisher-Kolmogorov Equation;140 4.2.2.2;A Diffusion-Reaction Equation for Chemotaxis;143 4.2.2.3;The Visco-elastic Equation;145 4.2.3;Wound Contraction;147 4.2.3.1;The Model Due to Tranquillo;147 4.2.3.2;The Model Due to Olsen $et al$;151 4.2.4;Angiogenesis;153 4.2.4.1;The Model Due to Gaffney $et al$;153 4.2.4.2;The Model Due to Maggelakis;156 4.2.5;Wound Closure;159 4.2.5.1;The Model Due to Sherratt and Murray;159 4.2.5.2;The Model Due to Adam;160 4.2.5.3;A Combination of Angiogenesis andWound Closure;165 4.2.6;Discussion and Conclusions;171 4.2.7;References;174 5;III Computer Methods for Studying Biomechanical Conditions at Chronic Wound Sites: From Tissue to Cellular Scales;9 5.1;MRI Integrated with Computational Methods for Determining Internal Soft Tissue Loads as Related to Chronic Wounds;178 5.1.1;Introduction;178 5.1.2;Coupled MRI-FE Linear Models;181 5.1.