Wound licking is an instinctive response in humans and many other animals to an injury. Dogs, cats, rodents and primates all lick wounds. The enzyme lysozyme is found in many tissues and is known to attack the cell walls of many gram-positive bacteria, aiding in defense against infection. Tears are also beneficial to wounds due to the lysozyme enzyme.
Read more about Wound Licking: Mechanism, In Non-human Animals, In Humans, Idiomatic Use, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words wound and/or licking:
“‘I shall be one with nature, herb, and stone’,
Shelley would tell me. Shelley wound be stunned:
The dullest Tommy hugs that fancy now.
‘Pushing up daisies’ is their creed, you know.”
—Wilfred Owen (1893–1918)
“My father fight against you last time. We give you one good licking then and we do it again.”
—Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)