Introduction to Musculoskeletal Tissues and Drug Delivery Systems

Musculoskeletal tissues provide support, structure, and motion to the human body. This chapter deals with different tissues that comprise the musculoskeletal system, namely, bone, cartilage, muscle, intervertebral disc, tendons, and ligaments, and their development and common pathologies. The musculoskeletal tissues are most commonly degenerated because of their use over life and thus develop age-related pathologies. Trauma is also a major cause of injuries to these tissues as they are meant to take the mechanical forces exerted on the body during impacts. A variety of other diseases like cancer also affect these tissues. Conventional systemic drug delivery causes secondary implications on the body; thus, controlled drug delivery systems that can make targeted delivery of the drugs at an appropriate concentration will be ideal. This chapter introduces the prerequisites for drug delivery systems for musculoskeletal tissues and their common forms.