ABSTRACT

Bone defects and malformation, caused by trauma, infection, tumor resection, congenital deformity, and physical and pathological degeneration, represent a major concern for orthopedic surgeons. According to the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, bone diseases affect 10 to 12 million people in the United States and there are approximately 1.5 million fractures reported in the United States every year (Shane 2010). Within the European Union, it is estimated that a bone fracture occurs every 30 seconds as a consequence of osteoporosis (Compston 1999) and in China over 3 million individuals per year are estimated to suffer from bone defects or injury; figures that only superficially describe the enormous impact of such injuries on the quality of life of individuals and health care costs carried by society (Kesheng et al. 2006). Considering this data, we can see that bone repair and regeneration can solve a serious problem for human beings.