ABSTRACT
The eld of biomaterials is very broad. As largely discussed in this book, a biomaterial is typically conceived as a biocompatible and bioapplicable synthetic material, which is employed either to replace a part of a living tissue or to function in intimate contact with it. Accordingly, biomaterials are intended to interface with biological systems in order to evaluate, treat, augment, or replace biological functions of tissues or organs of the body. The rapidly growing basic science of biomaterials, along with continuous improvements on their fabrication and processing, provides fundamental bene ts for medical devices that already use biomaterials in clinical practice, such as arti cial hips, oral implants, vascular stents, drug delivery systems, etc.
