I know this may be some forum Necromancy but I found some interesting things on the topic of regeneration and have some ideas of my own about troll regeneration. It is common knowledge that some amphibians are able to regenerate fully functional limbs as adults, such as salamanders. To make an argument for how regeneration works, I decided to compare that of a salamander's to recorded cases of minor regeneration in humans. For those people who don't want to read the background information I based my thoughts on, there is a summary of my ideas below all of this. I know it's a long read.
Salamanders and Regeneration:
Quote:In salamanders, the regeneration process begins immediately after amputation. Limb regeneration in the axolotl and newt have been extensively studied. After amputation, the epidermis migrates to cover the stump in less than 12 hours, forming a structure called the apical epidermal cap (AEC). Over the next several days there are changes in the underlying stump tissues that result in the formation of a blastema (a mass of dedifferentiated proliferating cells). As the blastema forms, pattern formation genes – such as HoxA and HoxD – are activated as they were when the limb was formed in the embryo. The distal tip of the limb (the autopod, which is the hand or foot) is formed first in the blastema. The intermediate portions of the pattern are filled in during growth of the blastema by the process of intercalation. Motor neurons, muscle, and blood vessels grow with the regenerated limb, and reestablish the connections that were present prior to amputation. The time that this entire process takes varies according to the age of the animal, ranging from about a month to around three months in the adult and then the limb becomes fully functional.
In plain english:
Once amputation occurs, regeneration immediately starts. Skin cells cover the site of injury in under 12 hours, and in the tissue at the site of injury start to form blastema cells which are like "un-assigned" cells, able to become almost anything the body requires. The formation of the blastema is what gives salamanders the ability to regenerate, and the formation of these in humans ends before we are even born (in fetal development). Yes, I realize trolls are -not- salamanders, but they do exhibit the same trait, just to a lesser extent. This is only the first part of my ideas. Also, for the cauterization theory, if you were to cut of a salamander's arm and cauterize it, it would indeed interrupt the regeneration process and they would be left with a stump.
Regeneration in Humans:
Quote:Finger Tips
Studies in the 1970s showed that children up to the age of 10 or so who lose fingertips in accidents can regrow the tip of the digit within a month provided their wounds are not sealed up with flaps of skin – the de facto treatment in such emergencies. They normally won't have a finger print, and if there is any piece of the finger nail left it will grow back as well, usually in a square shape rather than round.
In August 2005, Lee Spievack, then in his early sixties, accidentally sliced off the tip of his right middle finger just above the first phalanx. His brother, Dr. Alan Spievack, was researching regeneration and provided him with powdered extracellular matrix. Mr. Spievack covered the wound with the powder, and the tip of his finger re-grew in four weeks. The news was released in 2007. Lee Spievack is the first documented case of an adult human regenerating fingertips.
Ribs
There have appeared claims that human ribs could regenerate if the periosteum, the membrane surrounding the rib, were left intact. In one study rib material was used for skull reconstruction and all 12 patients had complete regeneration of the resected rib.
In these instances, minor regeneration is possible under special circumstances though the regenerated parts grow back differently than they were before.
My ideas about troll regeneration would be that their abilities of regenerating limbs and extremities meets somewhere in the middle here. I imagine troll regeneration to not be as good as that of a salamander's, but definitely not as poor as human regeneration. For trolls, regeneration of an entire arm would likely not be possible, but hands, feet, definitely fingers and toes, and perhaps even forearms would be possible, though the debate about fully-functional regrowth is still open to interpretation. I would think the limbs would regrow back differently and depending on the size of limbs lost, it would take time. Age would also play a factor; the older, the lesser the ability to regenerate.
Another example of limbs growing back differently that I can think of other than humans is with geckos. Leopard geckos have the ability to lose their entire tail and grow it back. An image to exemplify is below:
http://www.petadvice.com.au/images/leop ... otail1.jpg
The gecko on the left has lost and regrown its tail, whereas the right gecko's tail is intact. See the difference in size and shape? Just as in the human cases, the lost body parts grow back stubby or shaped differently.
Something else that may be argued is blood loss with trolls; in geckos, when they lose their tails to either being pulled off or dropped, their body goes through a process called vasoconstriction, where the blood vessels literally constrict to stop the flow of blood to the lost tail. I read someone bringing up trolls having the ability to stop bleeds and things like that earlier in the thread, and this is sort of up for debate still though it is indeed probable that if trolls do have such an ability, it is due to something similar to vasoconstriction. More about vasoconstriction if you're interested
HERE.
Summary of my thoughts on Troll Regeneration based on this info:
-The older the troll, the lower the ability to regenerate
-Trolls
most likely cannot regenerate entire limbs
-Trolls
would be able to regenerate small extremities such as toes and fingers, hands and feet, etc.
-Regrown body parts would grow back differently than before
-Cauterized wounds would not regenerate, neither would bandaged or covered wounds
-Regenerated limbs and body parts would still have feeling, nerves, blood flow, adequate muscle tissue, etc.
-Diet and health of the individual would play a role in the time it would take to regenerate
-Size of injury and amount of flesh lost would also play a role in the time it would take to regenerate ( I would suggest even a finger would take a month to regrow with the time period increasing with injury size )
-The subject of vasoconstriction (stop of blood flow to limbs, halting blood loss) is still up for debate; if it is possible, I would imagine it also depends on the size of the wound etc.
Cliffs: TL;DR
Amount of times I used the word regenerate/regeneration: 11ty billion
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