What is the correct order of the major steps in Tissue Engineering?

The correct order of the major steps in tissue engineering begins with the extraction of living cells, as this is the foundational step where cells are obtained, often from a biopsy or cell bank. Following extraction, cell culturing takes place to expand the number of cells and prepare them for subsequent steps. Once an adequate population of cells has been grown, the next step is seeding these cells onto a scaffold. The scaffold serves as a temporary structure that provides support and a suitable environment for the cells to adhere to and proliferate.

After the cells are successfully seeded onto scaffolds, the engineered tissue construct can be implanted into the body. Once implanted, the scaffold is designed to gradually degrade over time, allowing the body's natural processes to eventually replace the scaffold with new tissue. This leads to the formation of extracellular matrix and ultimately results in the development of new, healthy tissue.

This ordered process ensures that each step builds upon the previous one, leading to successful tissue creation and integration into the host. Understanding this sequence is crucial for anyone studying tissue engineering, as it highlights the importance of each phase in creating functional tissue constructs for medical applications.