Bone marrow in orthopaedics (part II): a three hundred and seventy million-year saga from the Devonian to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic-osteonecrosis; transplantation; "human chimera"; stem cells, bioreactors, an

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Purpose Three hundred seventy million years ago, bone marrow appeared in skeleton of a fish. More than one hundred years ago, the concept of bone marrow transplantation was proposed to treat human diseases. During the last five decades, this concept became a reality first in hematology and later for orthopaedic diseases. Material and methods These advances were possible due to the comprehension of the three major components of bone marrow: the fat part, the haematologic part, and the stroma part. Each part has a different history, but the three parts are linked in physiology as in history. Results During many centuries, bone marrow was considered just as food; however, one hundred years ago, the concept of bone marrow transplantation to treat humans was proposed by the French physician Brown-Séquard. During the last five decades, this concept became a reality first in haematology and later for orthopaedic diseases. Transferring what was known from experimental animal models to humans was met with many challenges, the atomic bomb research, and many deaths. Yet through the recognition and subsequent understanding of fundamental processes, medical resiliency, and the determination of a few pioneers, local bone marrow transplantation in orthopaedic surgery became a therapeutic option first for a limited number of diseases and patients. Over the last two decades, mesenchymal stromal

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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