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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Mol Med. 2019 Jan 22;25(3):241–256. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2018.12.007

Figure 4: Toward the path to translation.

Figure 4:

(A) Constructs should be tailored for human discal pathologies and size, potentially increasing in both area and thickness. (B) Prior to translation through regulatory bodies such as the FDA, animal studies must be performed in proper large animals, such as the minipig. (C) Novel surgical procedures for disc repair and disc replacement need to be developed as well. (D) Additional studies also need to be performed to examine local and systemic responses to tissue-engineered TMJ discs in the orthotopic environment. Upon overcoming these hurdles, the TMJ disc tissue-engineering field will be closer to human clinical trials.