Common Wound Description Terms You Should Know

Editor’s note: This blog was reviewed by Maren Zinski, MSN, RN, WCC.

How you describe wounds shapes how you treat them. Wound care terminology isn’t just medical jargon, they’re the language that guides informed decisions and better healing.

Clear, precise communication between patients, clinicians, and other interdisciplinary team members is a must for effective wound management. From the initial assessment to long-term treatment, how we describe wounds can significantly influence patient outcomes.

Accurate documentation provides the foundation for effective treatment planning, allows clinicians to track healing progress over time, and promotes seamless collaboration among care teams. Without a shared language and consistent wound care terminology, there’s a greater risk of miscommunication, delayed interventions, and suboptimal care.

Let’s explore common wound description terms that help ensure clarity, standardization, and high-quality care throughout every phase of wound management.

Types of wounds

Grasping wound classification is a foundational step in delivering effective care. To accurately categorize wounds, use specific wound description terms, which include:

• Acute wounds: These are recent injuries that typically follow a predictable healing trajectory, such as surgical incisions. They typically heal in four to six weeks.
• Chronic wounds: These are wounds that don’t progress through the normal stages of healing, often due to underlying conditions like diabetes or vascular insufficiencies. Pressure injuries, diabetic foot ulcers, and vascular ulcers are all chronic wounds.
• Open wounds: Injuries where the skin is broken, exposing underlying tissues. Examples include abrasions, lacerations, and punctures.
• Closed wounds: Injuries where the skin remains intact, such as contusions or hematomas.
• Full-thickness wounds: These extend through the entire dermis and into the subcutaneous tissue or beyond. They involve total loss of skin layers and may expose fat, muscle, or bone. Healing often occurs by secondary intention and may require surgical intervention.
• Partial-thickness wounds: These affect only the epidermis and part of the dermis. These injuries typically heal more quickly because epithelial cells can regenerate from intact skin structures such as hair follicles.

Wound bed characteristics

The appearance of the wound bed offers important clues about the stage of healing. Keep these common wound description terms in mind:

• Biofilm: A community of microorganisms encased in a protective matrix that adheres to the wound bed. Biofilm contributes to chronic inflammation and infection and is resistant to antibiotics and immune responses.
• Bioburden: This is the number of viable bacteria present in a wound. While all wounds contain some bacteria, a high bioburden can impair healing and increase the risk of infection.
• Epithelial tissue: The regenerating outermost layer of skin cells that migrates across a wound bed during the final stages of healing. It appears thin, pale pink, white, or translucent tissue, signaling wound closure.
• Eschar: Dry, thick, leathery tissue that is often black or brown, signifying necrotic tissue that may require removal.
• Exudate: Fluid that leaks from blood vessels into surrounding tissues, often accumulating in wounds. It can be serous (clear), sanguineous (bloody), serosanguineous (mixture of clear and bloody), seropurulent (clear and yellow), or purulent (infected), and provides insights into wound status and healing progress.
• Granulation tissue: This is the new connective tissue and microscopic blood vessels that develop on a wound’s surface during healing, appearing as beefy red or dark pink.
• Hypergranulation tissue: Excessive granulation tissue that rises above the level of the wound edges, which potentially delays epithelial tissue from forming. It appears red, moist, and often friable tissue, and may require intervention to manage.
• Necrotic tissue: Dead tissue that is no longer viable, often resulting from ischemia, infection, or trauma. It can appear black, brown, or tan and must be removed to support healthy wound healing.
• Slough: Soft, moist, devitalized tissue that is typically yellow, white, or even gray, indicating the need for debridement.

Wound edges and periwound

Accurate assessment of wound edges and the periwound (surrounding skin) helps guide treatment plans. Use the following wound care terminology to describe these important aspects:

• Edema: Swelling caused by an excessive amount of fluid trapped in the body’s tissues, which is commonly seen around wounds and often associated with inflammation, infection, or impaired lymphatic or venous return.
• Epibole: This is when wound edges are rolled or curled under, which can impede epithelialization and delay healing.
• Erythema: This is the redness of the skin resulting from increased blood flow to capillaries in the area, which often signals inflammation, irritation, or infection.
• Hyperkeratosis: This is the thickening of the outer layer of the skin, often appearing as a white or gray callus-like rim around chronic wounds, especially in areas of friction or pressure. If not managed appropriately, it can hinder healing.
• Hypertrophic: This refers to an overproduction of collagen in the healing phase, leading to a raised, thickened scar that remains within the boundary of the original wound.
• Induration: This is the hardening of the tissue around the wound, indicating possible infection or inflammation.
• Maceration: This is where the skin softens and breaks down because of prolonged moisture exposure, often appearing as white, wrinkled skin around the wound.

Exudate

The type and volume of wound drainage offers valuable information about the wound’s status. These terms describe the different types of exudate:

• Serous: Clear, watery plasma, typically seen in the early stages of healing.
• Sanguineous: Fresh bleeding, indicating active bleeding or trauma to the wound bed.
• Serosanguineous: Thin, watery, pale red to pink plasma, common in normal healing.
• Seropurulent: Cloudy or milky in appearance, which indicates the presence of both serum (a clear, yellowish fluid) and pus. This suggests a possible early infection or a wound isn’t healing as expected.
• Purulent: Thick, opaque drainage that is yellow, green, or brown, often signifying infection or delayed healing.

Measurement and depth

Accurate measurement is essential for monitoring healing progress. These are general wound description terms used during assessments:

• Length: Wounds are measured from head to toe (12 o’clock to 6 o’clock position).
• Width: Wounds are measured from side to side (9 o’clock to 3 o’clock position).
• Depth: Wounds are measured by inserting a sterile applicator into the deepest part of the wound.
• Undermining: This is tissue destruction of the underlying intact skin along the wound margins. This can result in dead space (a void of tissue under the wound).
• Tunneling: These are channels that extend from the wound into and through subcutaneous tissue or muscle.

Healing stages

Recognizing the phases of healing aids in appropriate intervention, which includes the following:

1. Hemostasis: Immediate response to injury, involving blood clotting to stop bleeding.
2. Inflammation: Characterized by redness, heat, swelling, and pain as the body’s immune response clears debris and prevents infection.
3. Proliferation: Involves tissue regeneration, angiogenesis, and formation of granulation tissue.
4. Maturation (Remodeling): Final phase where collagen is remodeled, and the wound fully closes, potentially leaving a scar. However, there will be decreased tensile strength at the end of this phase.

Closure methods

Understanding closure techniques is vital for post-operative care and includes these terms:

1. Primary intention: Wound edges are brought together surgically, leading to minimal scarring.
2. Secondary intention: Wound is left open to heal naturally, often resulting in more significant scarring.
3. Tertiary intention: Delayed closure due to infection or other factors, combining aspects of primary and secondary intentions.

Dressing types

Wound description terms also include the different types of dressings and how they support healing. Here are a few of the most common dressing types and their specific functions:

• Alginate: Made from seaweed-derived materials (sodium and calcium fibers), these dressings are highly absorbent and form a gel when in contact with fluid.
• Antimicrobial: Infused with agents like silver or iodine, these help reduce bioburden and manage infection.
• Collagen: Made from bovine, porcine, or avian collagen, these dressings support the body’s natural healing processes and also supports the re-epithelialization process.
• Composite: Multi-layered dressings that combine several functions, such as absorption, protection, and bacterial barrier.
• Foam: Soft, absorbent dressings that provide cushioning and absorb moderate to heavy exudate. They help maintain a moist environment while protecting the wound from external contaminants.
• Gauze: Woven or non-woven materials used for cleaning, packing, or covering wounds. It can be used wet or dry but often requires frequent changes.
• Hydrocolloid: Occlusive or semi-occlusive dressings made of substances that form a gel in the presence of exudate, maintaining a moist environment.
• Hydrogel: Water- or glycerin-based dressings that provide moisture to dry wounds, promoting autolytic debridement.
• Occlusive: A non-permeable type of dressing that completely seals a wound from air and moisture, creating an anaerobic environment. This helps maintain a moist wound bed, which can accelerate healing and protect against external contaminants.
• Semi-occlusive: A semi-permeable dressing that partially seals the wound, allowing some air and moisture vapor to pass through while still maintaining a moist environment. It offers protection while supporting gas exchange and moisture balance.

Understanding wound description terms is important for all healthcare professionals involved in wound management. By becoming familiar with these terms, you can ensure a standardized approach to care, leading to more efficient and effective healing.