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The regrowth of lost tissues or organs in the human body is being researched. Some tissues such as skin regrow quite readily; others have been thought to have little or no capacity for regeneration, but ongoing research suggests that there is some hope for a variety of tissues and organs.
Skin tissue can be regenerated in vivo or in vitro. Other organs and body parts that have been procured to regenerate include: penis, fats, vagina, brain tissue, thymus, and a scaled down human heart. One goal of scientists is to induce full regeneration in more human organs. There are various techniques that can induce regeneration.
Tissue expansion is a technique used by plastic, maxillofacial and reconstructive surgeons to cause the body to grow additional skin, bone, or other tissues. Other biological phenomena such as tissue inflammation can also be considered expansion (see tissue inflammation below). [citation needed]
Skin grafting, invented in the late 19th century, can be thought of as the earliest major attempt to recreate bodily tissue to restore structure and function. [11] Advances in transplanting body parts in the 20th century further pushed the theory that body parts could regenerate and grow new cells.
Timing is important to wound healing. Critically, the timing of wound re-epithelialization can decide the outcome of the healing. [11] If the epithelization of tissue over a denuded area is slow, a scar will form over many weeks, or months; [12] [13] If the epithelization of a wounded area is fast, the healing will result in regeneration.
Blood vessels soon grow into the dermis, restoring circulation. If the injury is very minor, the epithelial cells eventually restore the epidermis once the dermis has been regenerated. In major injuries, the repair mechanisms are unable to restore the skin to its original condition.
That's because the base of the hair that first emerges from the skin when it starts to regrow is newer and healthier than the older hair you're used to seeing, which is thinner and softer.
During early gestation fetal skin wounds have the remarkable ability to heal rapidly and without scar formation. Wound healing itself is a particularly complex process and the mechanisms by which scarring occurs involves inflammation, fibroplasia , the formation of granulation tissue and finally scar maturation.