Tissue engineering from Adam to the zygote: historical reflections

Tissue engineering, long a matter of myth and dream throughout the history of medicine, is now a practical reality. A wide spectrum of biological mate rials are used in the field of urology to treat disease and to overcome hum an disabilities, including tissue grafts and organ transplantation. Laborat ory-engineered bioproducts for the off-the-shelf replacement and reconstruc tion of tissue is now almost at hand. This article presents a glimpse into the past by highlighting a number of early pioneering works in the held of tissue transplantation and cell culture technologies.