Muscle tissue

Muscle tissue is a contractile body tissue as well as the force behind all bodily movement. It's specialized to contract or shorten forcefully and is classified under three types: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth. The classification is according to the anatomic location and function of the muscle.

When classified by appearance, muscle can be striated (with thin parallel streaks) or nonstriated (without thin parallel streaks). When classified by function, it is voluntary (consciously controlled) or involuntary (not normally consciously controlled).

Let's go over the three types again, but further in depth:
Voluntary striated (skeletal)
Involuntary striated (cardiac)
Involuntary nonstriated (smooth)

Person 1: *existing*
Person 2: "Did you know that muscle tissue makes up a large portion of your body weight?"
Person 1: "Literally NOONE asked"

by craigellachie March 1, 2022

Tissue Engineering

The biomedical discipline of growing functional, three-dimensional human tissues and organs in the lab from a patient's own cells. It's not just repairing the body; it's building spare parts for it from the ground up. Scientists use scaffolds (like biodegradable frameworks), cocktails of growth factors, and bioreactors (simulating bodily conditions) to coax cells into organizing themselves into complex structures like skin, cartilage, or even miniature livers. The goal is to bypass donor shortages and immune rejection, creating personalized biological grafts.

Example: Growing a new bladder for a patient with spinal bifida by seeding their own cells onto a scaffold and implanting it is a real-world success of Tissue Engineering. In the lab, researchers creating "organoids"—tiny, beating heart models or brain bits—to test drugs are using the same principles. It's the ultimate form of bio-fabrication.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026