Which phase occurs immediately after injury?

• A. Hemostasis
• B. Inflammatory
• C. Proliferation/Repair
• D. Maturation/Remodeling

Answer: (A)

Wound healing occurs in a specific sequence of phases. Immediately after injury, the body prioritizes stopping the bleed through hemostasis. This involves constricting blood vessels, forming a platelet plug, and activating the coagulation cascade to create a fibrin clot. The clot seals the wound, minimizes further blood loss, and provides a scaffold for cells that will drive healing. Once hemostasis is underway, the inflammatory phase follows, with immune cells migrating to clear debris and prevent infection, setting the stage for tissue formation. The proliferative/repair phase then builds new tissue and blood vessels, and finally maturation/remodeling reorganizes the repaired tissue. So the earliest phase after injury is hemostasis.