In skeletal muscle healing, which event is the first step after injury?

Prepare for the Tissue Injury, Healing, and Pain Test. Utilize flashcards and multiple-choice questions with hints and explanations. Ensure you're ready for the exam!

Immediately after skeletal muscle injury, the first event is necrosis of the damaged muscle cells. Disruption of the sarcolemma allows calcium influx and activation of proteolytic pathways, causing the injured fibers to die. This cell death releases intracellular contents and triggers the inflammatory response, which recruits immune cells to clear debris and sets the stage for repair. While hematoma formation can occur from vascular injury, it is not the defining first cellular step of healing. Removal of necrotic tissue and activation and fusion of satellite cells to regenerate fibers happen later in the sequence.