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Regenerative Engineering

by Cato T. Laurencin, Yusuf Khan

Distinct from tissue engineering, which focuses primarily on the repair of tissues, regenerative engineering focuses on the regeneration of tissues: creating living, functional tissue that has the ability to replace organs that are dysfunctional. The challenge of working in an area like regenerative engineering lies, in part, in the breadth of information required to truly appreciate and begin to think about this field. Regenerative Engineering introduces the field through the presentation of fundamental concepts of cell biology, stem cell science, materials science, and cell-material interactions. It also focuses on specific organ and tissue types and presents up-to-date examples of ongoing work, often in the context of a specific clinical need. Regenerative medicine focuses on the biological aspects of tissue regeneration via stem cells, factors, and cytokines, while tissue engineering focuses on the integration of materials science and life sciences. This book integrates these two areas, presenting each concept in the framework of regenerative engineering. Features: --Covers a number of cutting-edge topics related to regenerative medicine and tissue engineering --Includes an introductory chapter on materials science --Features a number of the contributors who are world-class researchers, one of whom is Dr. Anthony Atala, whose work dealing with organ regenerative engineering was featured on Sixty Minutes --Incorporates problem-based learning throughout the text, which is not hypothetical but based on actual biological, engineering, or clinical scenarios. Combining science, engineering and medicine, Regenerative Engineering incorporates all of the essential elements needed for further advancement in this field. The book explores the development and examination of vital organs and tissue types and addresses concerns as it relates to the regenerative engineering of various organ tissues, vascular tissues, bone, ligament, neural tissue, and the interfaces between tissues. Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of many other tissue types that are currently the topic of regeneration and repair. Publisher's note.