The knee meniscus was once thought to be a vestigial tissue, but is now known to be instrumental in imparting stability, shock absorption, load transmission, and stress distribution within the knee joint. Unfortunately, most damage to the meniscus cannot be effectively healed by the body. Meniscus tissue engineering offers a possible solution to this problem by striving to create replacement tissue that may be implanted into a defect site. With a strong focus on structure-function relationships, this book details the essential anatomical, biochemical, and mechanical aspects of this versatile tissue and reviews current meniscus tissue engineering strategies and repair techniques. We have written this text such that undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers will find it useful as a first foray into tissue engineering, a cohesive study of the meniscus, or a reference for meniscus engineering specifications. Table of Contents: Structure-Function Relationships of the Knee Meniscus / Pathophysiology and the Need for Tissue Engineering / Tissue Engineering of the Knee Meniscus / Current Therapies and Future Directions

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K. A. Athanasiou is a Distinguished Professor and the Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California Davis. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (bioengineering) from Columbia University. Johannah Sanchez-Adams is pursuing her Ph.D. in Bioengineering at Rice University under the mentorship of Professor Athanasiou. Her thesis project focuses on using dermis-derived cells toward tissue engineering a spectrum of cartilages. She holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering from Duke University.