by V. Kumar

Created on: August 23, 2008   Last Updated: April 22, 2009

Doctors do not heal the body. The body heals itself .... and when it fails to do so, as in very old age, no medicine can bring it back to normal health ! The power to heal itself is perhaps the greatest asset of a living body. It is an extraordinary ability that is critical in achieving continuation of life.

With the way we have become used to medicines, hospitals and surgeons as saviours of our life, it might seem strange as to how mankind survived and thrived all those millions of years without medical help or advice by his side. It is then that you come to realise the importance of this extraordinary healing power of the human body which helps it dealing with gravest of injuries and still being able to become fit and healthy again. The survival of our race would not have been possible without it.

HEALING - AN EXTRAORDINARY POWER OF THE CELLS

Healing is the process by which an damaged part of body is brought back to its normal condition. As we all know, body is made of organs that are made of tissues and cells. Each cell is a dynamic living unit which keeps changing its condition continuously. These cells get disturbed and injured regularly and have an ability to repair the damage and 'heal' themselves, regaining the original shape.

More importantly, cells also have an ability to replicate and form new cells that can replace the cells that have been permanently damaged and destroyed. Thus, even if a few hundred thousand cells are destroyed, as happens almost on a regular daily basis, the surrounding cells replicate to produce new cells, which replace the dead one in almost no time. This process keeps us intact and healthy even without our realizing it.

THE COMPLEX PROCESS OF HEALING

The most important aspect of body's healing is its ability to replace the dead cells and tissues with an almost identical replacement. This complex process takes place in many steps.

The first step in healing is the immediate response of body to the injury, almost like the first aid treatment, consisting primarily of stopping bleeding. After an injury, bleeding is stopped by the contraction of blood vessels within a couple of minutes by the contraction of the blood vessels. This is followed by the process of blood clotting that begins with platelets, and ends with formation of a blood clot that blocks the leak from which blood is coming out.

Once the body's first aid is in place, the repair machinery begins to take over almost instantaneously. The white blood cells accumulate at the site

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