Engineering the Knee Meniscus (Synthesis Lectures on Tissue Engineering)

Kyriacos Athanasiou, Johanna Sanchez-adams, "Engineering the Knee Meniscus (Synthesis Lectures on Tissue Engineering)"
Morgan & Claypool Publishers | 2009 | ISBN: 1598298720 | 120 pages | PDF | 5,8 MB

ABSTRACT
The knee meniscus was once thought to be a vestigial tissue, but is now known to be instrumental
in imparting stability, shock absorption, load transmission, and stress distribution within the knee
joint. Unfortunately,most damage to the meniscus cannot be effectively healed by the body. Meniscus
tissue engineering offers a possible solution to this problem by striving to create replacement tissue
that may be implanted into a defect site.With a strong focus on structure-function relationships,
this book details the essential anatomical, biochemical, and mechanical aspects of this versatile tissue
and reviews current meniscus tissue engineering strategies and repair techniques.We have written
this text such that undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers will find it useful as
a first foray into tissue engineering, a cohesive study of the meniscus, or a reference for meniscus
engineering specifications.

PREFACE:
The inspiration for writing this monograph came from our desire to highlight important
aspects of the knee meniscus as they relate to tissue engineering and outline historical and current
advances in the field. Our goal was to create a cohesive, logical, and graphic work that guides
the reader through a study of the meniscus through the eyes of a tissue engineer. We hope that
undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers alike will find this information useful as
an introductory guide to engineering the meniscus or a reference for future engineering attempts.
The first half of the monograph focuses on native characteristics of the knee meniscus including
its biochemical makeup, mechanical properties, and the limited ability of the tissue to self-repair.
The second half reviews tissue engineering attempts aimed at recreating meniscus biochemistry and
mechanics to repair damaged tissue, and highlights important considerations for meniscus tissue
engineers. Throughout the chapters particular emphasis is placed on the functional aspect of the
meniscus and its importance in a tissue engineered construct. We hope that the overall outline
of this book allows the reader to understand the complexity of the knee meniscus and the need
for engineered meniscus tissue, while providing enough background to evaluate recent engineering
attempts. By documenting the field of meniscus engineering in this way, we aim to educate and
inspire innovation from current and future researchers.
Kyriacos A. Athanasiou and Johannah Sanchez-Adams
Rice University
March 2009

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