12.1 Introduction and history

Bioceramics are meant to be used as implants in living organisms or, more generally, during prolonged contact with biological fluids or tissues. This broad definition includes ceramics which are or could be used in extracorporeal circulation systems (dialysis for example) or engineered bioreactors. However, this chapter will deal essentially with ceramics used as implants.

The substitution of faulty organs or tissues has always been man's preoccupation. The first attempts at implantation probably date back to prehistoric periods and most probably involved teeth, on account of their easy accessibility, their nutritional role, and due to their social function, of course, and their place in the collective imagination. We find traces of surgical attempts on skeletons, particularly in such civilizations where it was customary to mummify the dead. The most elaborate applications were carried out by Larrey, with the use of plaster of Paris particularly for setting internal bone fractures. However, the extensive use of bioceramics began after World War II, when the development of the medical insurance system and the rapid technological progress led to a widespread use and an improvement of these surgical interventions benefiting a larger number of people. Biomedical ceramics used today essentially come from other fields of application. However, various adaptations were necessary and ceramics for exclusively medical use began to be developed. The place held by ceramics and polymers as well as ceramic-polymer composites in the field of biomaterials will probably increase in the coming years at the...