Biomaterials: Principles and Applications offers a comprehensive review of all the major biomaterials in this rapidly growing field. In recent years, the role of biomaterials has been influenced considerably by advances in many areas of biotechnology and science, as well as advances in surgical techniques and instruments. Comprising chapters contributed by a panel of international experts, this text provides a familiarity with the uses of materials in medicine and dentistry and the rational basis for these applications. It covers such subjects as biodegradable polymeric materials and their relation to tissue engineering, biologic materials, and biomaterials applications in soft and hard tissues. Nearly one hundred figures and tables further add to the value of this book. The text is concise, topical, and not overly technical - No other book covers the entire field of biomaterials so succinctly in one volume.

This book is written for those who would like to advance their knowledge beyond an introductory level of biomaterials or materials science and engineering. This requires one to understand more fully the science of materials, which is, of course, the foundation of biomaterials. The subject matter of this book may be divided into three parts: (1) fundamental structure-property relationships of man-made materials (Chapters 2-5) and natural biological materials, including biocompatibility (Chapters 6 and 7); (2) metallic, ceramic, and polymeric implant materials (Chapters 8-10); and (3) actual prostheses (Chapters 11 and 12). This manuscript was initially organized at Clemson University as classnotes for an introductory graduate course on biomaterials. Since then it has been revised and corrected many times based on experience with graduate students at Clemson and at Tulane University, where I taught for two years, 1981-1983, before joining the University of Iowa. I would like to thank the many people who helped me to finish this book; my son Y oon Ho, who typed all of the manuscript into the Apple Pie word processor; my former graduate students, M. Ackley Loony, W. Barb, D. N. Bingham, D. R. Clarke, J. P. Davies, M. F. DeMane, B. J. Kelly, K. W. Markgraf, N. N. Salman, W. J. Whatley, and S. o. Young; and my colleagues, Drs. W. Cooke, D. D. Moyle (Clemson G. H. Kenner (University of Utah), F. University), W. C. Van Buskirk (Tulane University), and Y.