Regenerative biology

Article By:

Mescher, Anthony L. Anatomy Section, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Last reviewed:August 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.578200

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• Regenerative biology, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

The field within developmental biology that focuses on regeneration, that is, the process by which an animal restores a lost part of its body. Regenerative biology is concerned with the regenerative capacity of cells, tissues, and organs. Broadly defined, the term regeneration can include many kinds of restorative activities shown by a wide variety of organisms. However, regeneration in this context connotes reproduction of a more perfect or complete replacement of a missing tissue or organ than usually results from processes of tissue repair or wound healing (Fig. 1). For example, cells of the epidermis, blood, and digestive and reproductive tracts are regenerated continuously or periodically in all vertebrates. Within the field of developmental biology, however, most research in regeneration involves systems in which removing a complex structure or major part of an organism initiates a chain of events that produces a structure that duplicates the missing part both functionally and anatomically. See also: Cell (biology); Cell biology; Developmental biology; Organ regeneration; Restoring regeneration; Sensory cell regeneration

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