n. 1. a process of healing. Healing by first intention is the natural healing of a wound or surgical incision when the edges are brought together under aseptic conditions and *granulation tissue forms. In healing by second intention the wound edges are separated and the cavity is filled with granulation tissue over which epithelial tissue grows from the wound edges. In healing by third intention the wound ulcerates, granulations are slow to form, and a scar forms at the wound site. 2. evaluation of a person’s aims or purpose in undergoing an action, which is important for the assessment and attribution of responsibility in ethicolegal questions and defined legally for the purposes of criminal law. See also doctrine of double effect.
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