In wound healing, which stage is described as Defensive?

• A. Inflammation (Defensive)
• B. Hemostasis
• C. Proliferation
• D. Maturation

Answer: (A)

The defensive phase is the inflammatory stage. After a wound, the body’s first job is defense against infection and cleanup of damaged tissue. Immune cells, especially neutrophils and then macrophages, flood the area to kill bacteria, phagocytose debris, and release signaling molecules that recruit more repair cells. This immune activity, along with changes in blood vessels that bring fluids and cells to the wound, causes the typical signs of inflammation (redness, heat, swelling, pain). While stopping bleeding is important, that’s the hemostasis phase, not the defensive one. The proliferation phase builds new tissue, and maturation remodels it over time. So the inflammatory stage best fits the descriptor “Defensive.”