ABSTRACT
The field of tissue engineering develops methods for the treatment of chronic or acute diseases in novel ways via a synergy of biological knowledge and engineering design strategies. Twentieth century medicine was revolutionized by the repair of severe injury to the human body via prosthetic implants. These artificial prosthetics have allowed for substantial improvements to patients’ quality of life, but gaps in our understanding of the human body have limited the efficacy of wholly artificial treatments. Understanding the mechanisms governing recovery of injured tissues is now a major field of research and innovation, and treatments are being developed to engineer or regrow damaged organs rather than replacing them.
