Tissue engineering: at the interface between engineering, biology and medicine

摘要

In several areas (e. g., skin, pancreatic islets, and liver) clinical use of tissue-engineered products is either underway (e. g., skin) or likely within the next two to five years (e. g., islets, liver, and cartilage). In other areas (e. g., bioartificial artery), the complex structural and functional needs of engineered tissue are such that the horizon is less well defined. Nonetheless, fundamental knowledge is added daily creating new opportunities nearly as rapidly as existing knowledge can be applied.