Implant (medicine)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An implant is an artificial device made to replace and act as a missing biological structure. Outer shell of implants are often made of biocompatible materials such as titanium. In some cases implants contain electronics e.g. artificial pacemaker and cochlear implants. Some implants are bioactive, such as drug-eluting stents in the aorta and coronary arteries.

In Orthopedic surgery implants may refer to devices that are placed over or within bones to hold a fracture reduction and prosthesis would be the more appropriate term for devices that replace a part or whole of a defunct joint. In this context implants may be placed within the body (internal) or placed outside the body (external). Dental implants are one of the few biomaterial devices which permanently cross the boundary between the inside and the outside of the body, since the base of the implant is osseointegrated in the bone of the mandible or maxilla and the top of the implant is in the mouth, where it can be capped with an artificial tooth.

An implant may also refer to a medication based on a drug suspended in a slow-release solid polypeptide carrier. These are usually administered by subcutaneous injection.