• Question: Are there any similar organs in animals that also have a defense against scarring? Could you use this to discover more about stopping scarring?

    Asked by manwrestler to Indi, Jarv, John, Ken, Vicky on 20 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by jammiedodger.
    • Photo: Vicky Young

      Vicky Young answered on 20 Mar 2012:

      Hey ManWrestler

      When a women has her period the lining of her uterus is removed and this grows back again without signs of scarring. Also the liver can regenerate itself and heal without scarring although this is different from the ovaries and uterus.

      There are scientists who are researching the uterus and liver in much the same way that I am doing. The reason I chose the ovary is that the ovary surface is covered in a single layer of cells called the mesothelium…. The same type of cells cover the surface of all the organs in the abdominal cavity and the cells (including the ovary cells) all originate from the same part of a baby making them identical. This single cell layer protects the organs and when there is damage to them they make a protein collagen to heal the damaged section kinda like a scab.

      So if these cells are all identical and are involved in the healing process – why do the organs in the abdominal scar and the ovary doesn’t?

      I chose the ovaries because they were identical in this way which makes the comparison with the scarring cells more reliable. The uterus and liver have a slightly different type of cell and the environment they are exposed to in the body is different. I might use these organs in the future though (:

      Btw awesome question!

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