Georgetown University researchers want to know why – and how – dolphins are so good at healing themselves:
A dolphin’s ability to heal quickly from a shark bite with apparent indifference to pain, resistance to infection, hemorrhage protection, and near-restoration of normal body contour might provide insights for the care of human injuries, says Michael Zasloff, M.D., Ph.D.
For a “Letter” published today in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Zasloff, an adjunct professor at GUMC and former Dean of Research, interviewed dolphin handlers and marine biologists from around the world, and reviewed the limited literature available about dolphin healing to offer some new observations about what he calls the “remarkable” and “mysterious” ability of dolphins to heal.
“Much about the dolphin’s healing process remains unreported and poorly documented,” says Zasloff. “How does the dolphin not bleed to death after a shark bite? How is it that dolphins appear not to suffer significant pain? What prevents infection of a significant injury? And how can a deep, gaping wound heal in such a way that the animal’s body contour is restored? Comparable injuries in humans would be fatal. ”
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Finally, Zasloff explores the ability of the dolphin’s wound to heal in a way that restores the dolphin’s body contour. He says the dolphin’s healing ability is less like human healing and more like regeneration.
“The repair of a gaping wound to an appearance that is near normal requires the ability of the injured animal to knit newly formed tissues with the existing fabric of adipocytes, collagen and elastic fibers,” he explains. “The dolphin’s healing is similar to how mammalian fetuses are able to heal in the womb.”