Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN) Practice Exam

The wound displaying granulated pink tissue, contraction, and reduced undermining is indicative of the proliferation stage of healing. During this phase, new tissue forms to fill the wound space. The presence of granulation tissue, which is moist, pink, and composed of new blood vessels, collagen, and inflammatory cells, is a hallmark of this stage.

Contraction also occurs in this phase, which helps to reduce the size of the wound as myofibroblasts pull the edges of the wound closer together. Reduced undermining indicates that the wound margins are starting to approximate, and the area of the wound is becoming more stable as granulation tissue continues to fill the space.

Other stages, such as inflammation, involve redness, heat, swelling, and pain but not the formation of granulation tissue. The maturation stage, which follows proliferation, is characterized by the remodeling of the collagen and a decrease in blood flow to the area, leading to a more stable scar. Debridement refers to the removal of dead or infected tissue to prepare the wound for healing, rather than a stage of the wound's healing process. Thus, the characteristics described most clearly align with the proliferation phase.