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Determination of wound age is one of the greatest challenges in autopsy cases. We have little knowledge on this issue despite a plethora of current studies. The purpose of this study was to shed light on wound age determination by studying the expression levels of ubiquitin and Ki-67 through immunohistochemical methods. A total of 45 (Balb/c) 6-8 week-old male mice, weighing 25-30 grams were divided into nine groups including five mice in each group. After general anesthesia, a 1.5 cm full-thickness incision was made on the dorsal skin using a scalpel. At 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours and 5, 7, and 14 days, a total of 42 mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. An area of 1 cm surrounding the wound was excised. One mouse died in each of the Groups 6, 7, and 8, leaving 42 mice to complete the study. The mean number of fibroblasts with positive Ki-67 staining at the wound edge was significantly higher in Groups 4, 5 and 6. Groups 5 and 6 showed a statistically significant percentage of Ki-67 positive staining basal cells. Groups 7 and 8 exhibited similar features with the control group. Ubiquitin-positive fibroblast cells in Groups 1 to 4 showed similar features with the control group and the number of ubiquitin-positive fibroblast cells was statistically significant in Groups 5, 6 and 7. As a marker, ubiquitin may be useful in determining whether the wound age is older than 1 day and may be used for wounds 1 to 7 days old. We suggest that the Ki-67 marker may assist in the determination of the age of 1 to 5-day-old wounds by using immunohistochemical methods.

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