Implants, transplants, and other parts of the medicine of the future.

Today, therapies that rely on adding something "more than natural" to the patient are a commonplace of medical practice. Although we may view such therapies as recent developments of biomedical science and engineering, they are actually the culmination of efforts to replicate, replace, and enhance parts of the human anatomy that date from the early days of recorded history. A review of some of those early efforts is an instructive way to begin. It helps us to appreciate that current developments at the forefront of biomedical science and engineering will soon transform the implants and transplants of today into the relatively primitive implants and transplants of the past. A discussion of the present state of implants and transplants follows. It is necessary to allow us to appreciate the great potential offered by current biomedical science and engineering for future developments in the therapies of the "more than natural." And then, finally, we can offer a present view of the implants, transplants, and other parts of the medicine of the future.