a. Grafting and transplantation

A Brazilian Board Resolution on Biomaterials - BBRB No. 220 of December 27th, 2006 considers the term transplantation to describe the placement of bone graft during a surgical procedure, so the graft is the product and the use of this tissue is called a transplant.

b. Bone formation and osteointegration

In the process of bone formation and the biological events responsible for osteointegration the following terms are used: osteogenesis when bone growth is derived from osteoblasts transferred along with the graft; osteoinduction when the newly formed bone derives from the recruitment of mesenchymal cell receptors that differentiate into osteoblasts; osteoconduction when the ability of a material (usually inorganic) allows the new bone tissue from pre-existing bone, requiring the presence of osteoprogenitor (preosteoblast) cells or bone tissue.

c. consolidation and osteointegration

On the biological process occurring after transplantation it should be clear that the graft can consolidate and/or embedded (incorporate) into the host bone. Therefore, consolidation and incorporation processes are distinct and should be well understood respectively, as the union that occurs between the graft and host bone or reabsorption and cell recolonisation between graft and host bone resulting in a progressive replacement of one by another. Thus, the imaging methods for assessment of these features can only provide an idea of the evolution of this process, but precise assessment on the consolidation and incorporation can be only determined by histopathology.
