1. Is the fault in the components that perform any physical action?
Answer: No
2. Is the faulty component part of the mechanism’s body?
Answer: Yes
3. Is the faulty component in the structure of the mechanism?
Answer: No
4. Does the damaged component provide protection?
Answer: Yes
5. Does the component serve any other purpose than protection?
Answer: Yes
6. Are there any external resources that can be used by the mechanism?
Answer: No
7. Does the healing change the characteristics of the system?
Answer: No
71) Mexican Axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum
The Mexican Axolotl is a salamander in the amphibian class. It can live 10 to 15 years in the wild but are considered endangered due to the water pollution, trading business, and being a food delicacy in Mexico (ÒMexican AxolotlsÓ). Axolotls have the unique ability of regenerating their skin to leave it scar-free.
The axolotls exhibit many juvenile characteristics when fully grown. One of those characteristics is having leydig cells still mixed in with the epithelial cells in the epidermis. Once the animal has been cut the blood clots but does not form a scab and over the next few dayÕs blood cells can be seen in the wound bed (Gilbert). Epithelial cells also migrated over the wound accumulating plasma and re-epithelializing it (Seifert et al.). Fibroblasts start to migrate to the wound and deposit extracellular matrix between the epidermis and muscle. The epithelial cells also differentiate into the muscle fibers and other epidermal organs (Seifert et al.). Once the skin was completely regenerated the blastema would disintegrate which would stop the proliferation and differentiation of the epithelial cells.
“Mexican Axolotls.” National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/axolotl/
Gilbert, Scott F. “Regeneration.” Regeneration. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Dec. 2000. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9971/
Seifert, Ashley W., James R. Monaghan, S. Randal Voss, and Malcolm Maden. “Skin Regeneration in Adult Axolotls: A Blueprint for Scar-Free Healing in Vertebrates.” PLoSONE (2012): n. pag. PLoSONE. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0032875
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