Final answer:
Scars form as a part of the skin's healing process, with fibroblasts creating collagen-rich scar tissue. An overproduction of scar tissue can result in a raised keloid scar, while loss of tissue in conditions like acne can cause sunken atrophic scars.
Step-by-step explanation:
How Do Radial Scars Appear
Scars are the result of the wound healing process where fibroblasts produce scar tissue in the form of collagen. Most wounds will result in some form of scar tissue, which is different from the original skin as it doesn't regenerate the typical cellular structure including hair follicles, sweat glands, or sebaceous glands.
The process can lead to different types of scars depending on how the body heals the skin damage. For instance, when the production of collagen does not cease after a wound has healed, it can lead to the formation of a raised and more noticeable scar referred to as a keloid.
In contrast, certain conditions like acne and chickenpox can lead to atrophic scars, which have a sunken appearance because of the loss of tissue.
These differences in scarring are due to the patterns in which collagen fibers are laid down during the healing process.
A keloid, for example, is often the result of an overproduction of scar tissue where the collagen has a thick, irregular basket-weave pattern and continues to grow even after the wound is healed. Atrophic scars, on the other hand, may have a breakdown of the supporting structure leading to a depression in the skin.