Hard Tissue Applications

Bone loss or damage can result from illnesses such as cancer and osteoporosis or from trauma sustained in an accident. The lost bone has to be substituted using alternative materials or methods such as tissue engineering or additive manufacturing, while damages like cracks or breaks are repaired by the use of implants such as fracture fixation devices in the form of screws, wires, pins, staples, or more complex load-bearing devices until healing is achieved. There are five types of bones in the human body—long bones: femur (upper leg), tibia (lower leg), and humerus (upper arm); short bones: carpals (wrist) and tarsals (ankle); flat bones: scapula (shoulder bone), sternum (chest bone), cranium (skull), pelvis, and ribs; irregular bones: vertebrae, sacrum (lower end of the vertebra), and mandible (lower jaw); and sesamoid bones: bones in tendons (patella and pisiform) [1] (Fig. 16.1).