<正> Objective: To explore the mechanism of the degradation of human hair keratin （HHK） scaffold material implanted in damaged skeletal muscle tissues. Methods: Six New Zealand rabbits with HHK scaffold material implants （composed of 3 different types of HHK material with varied degradation speed） after mus-clectomy were divided into 3 groups （2 in each group） to observe the degradation of the material at 1

3

6 weeks after operation. Another rabbit without operation was used as the control group. The degradation of HHK was observed with light microscopy

histochemistry of ubiquitin and electron microscopy. Results: Light microscopy showed that human hair cuticles fell off from the HHK material and emerged

and the macrophagocytes and multinucleate giant cells were attached onto the surface of the material

which became homogeneous at the first postoperative week. The HHK scaffold material was degraded into particles that was phagocytosed by macrophagocytes and multinucleate giant cells at the third week. U