Chronic wounds represent a major public health problem affecting 6.5 million people in the United States. Ischemia, primarily caused by peripheral artery diseases, represents a major complicating factor in cutaneous wound healing. In this work, we sought to develop a mathematical model of ischemic dermal wounds. The model consists of a coupled system of partial differential equations in the partially healed region, with the wound boundary as a free boundary. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is assumed to be viscoelastic, and the free boundary moves with the velocity of the ECM at the boundary. The model equations involve the concentration of oxygen, PDGF and VEGF, the densities of macrophages, fibroblasts, capillary tips and sprouts, and the density and velocity of the ECM. Simulations of the model demonstrate how ischemic conditions may limit macrophage recruitment to the wound-site and impair wound closure. The results are in general agreement with experimental findings.wound healing | ischemia | free boundary | viscoelasticity T he public health impact of chronic wounds is staggering. An estimated 1.3-3 million U.S. individuals are believed to have pressure ulcers and as many as 10 -15% of the 20 million individuals with diabetes are at risk of developing chronic ulcers. Many more have venous ulcers or wounds that result from arterial disease. Treating these wounds costs an estimated $5-$10 billion each year (1). The ability to repair the injured skin tissue is an evolutionarily conserved physiological defense response aimed at reestablishing the barrier function of the skin. Wound healing represents the outcome of a large number of interrelated biological events that are orchestrated over a temporal sequence in response to injury and its microenvironment. The process involves interactions among different soluble chemical mediators, different types of cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Wound healing, under normal conditions, is typically represented by four overlapping stages: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling (2, 3). During haemostasis, which occurs immediately after injury, clotting factors are delivered by platelets to the injured site to stop bleeding. At the wound site, platelets also release chemokines such as PDGF, which also recruits bloodborne cells to the wound. During the inflammatory phase, mast cells release granules that contain enzymes promoting vascular leakiness. This release enables neutrophils to migrate from the blood vessels into the wound site. Macrophages, differentiated from monocytes, also migrate into the wound and, together with neutrophils, degrade and remove necrotic tissue and kill infectious pathogens. Macrophages also enhance the production of growth factors secreted by platelets to attract fibroblasts and endothelial cells. The proliferative phase is characterized by the production of ECM by fibroblasts, and by the directed growth and movement of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) into the wound. The newly deposited ECM on the one hand serves as the b...