The use of foreign materials in the human body has an impressively long history. In approximately 600 A.D, the Mayans used mother of pearl to fashion dental implants that apparently integrated with bone. An iron dental implant dating back to 200 A.D. has been found in Europe. The use of sutures has an even longer history, stretching back some 32,000 years. Fast forwarding through the centuries, elephant ivory was used to fashion the first documented hip implant in 1891.
Most biomaterials used over the course of history were intended to be biopassive—simply tolerated by the body. This is beginning to change, however, as there is increasing demand to create biomaterials that support the field of regenerative medicine. In the meantime, inert biomaterials are also continuing to evolve.
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