WebMD 1:01: How Does a Cut Heal?

People are always getting cuts. You can even get a cut from a piece of paper.

Don't I know it. My aunt almost died in a horrible origami accident.

Well, lucky for her and the billions of others who practice the ancient art of paper folding, our body has an amazingly organized ability to heal a cut.

And it starts within seconds of the cut happening.

When your skin is cut, scraped, or punctured, the damaged blood vessel sends out a signal to the platelet blood cells.

Platelets race to the cut and clump together, forming a clot, preventing further blood loss. These clots turn into scabs as they dry.

Once the wound is clotted, blood vessels open a bit to allow fresh nutrients and oxygen into the wound for healing. And white blood cells join in to fight infection.

It's all hands on deck as more blood cells, including oxygen-rich red blood cells, arrive to help build new tissue and begin the repair process.

The tissue strengthens over time. And within three months, the healed wound is almost as strong as it was before. Such an amazing process.

If our body wasn't capable of this healing, my aunt and millions of others would never be able to origami again.

So the next time you see a tiny piece of paper folded into the shape of a crane, you can thank your platelets and red and white blood cells.

Arigato, red and white blood cells.

There's nothing there.