During the last three decades, important advances have been made in the available treatments for the loss of skeletal tissue as a result of trauma or disease. The application of large skeletal allografts and total joint replacement have become successful and reproducible treatment options. Unfortunately there still is a significant incidence of failure because of mechanical or biological complications. A new discipline known as tissue engineering has developed that integrates the concepts of the life sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and engineering, with surgical techniques to develop strategies for the regeneration of musculoskeletal tissue
