RESUMO
This article reviews the key developments in the tissue-engineering field over the past several years. Significant advances in tissue engineering have been made through improving singular aspects within the overall approach, that is, materials design, reactor design and cell source. Increasingly, however, advances are being made by combining several areas to create environments, which promote the development of new tissues whose properties more closely match their native counterparts. Progenitors and stem cells will play a critical role in understanding and developing new-engineered tissues as part of this approach. Although significant progress has been made in the tissue-engineering field, many challenges remain and further development in this area will require ongoing interactions and collaborations among the scientists from multiple disciplines