Tissue engineering uses the concepts of cell biology, bioengineering and material methods to repair or replace living tissues. A specific topic of tissue engineering is called artificial skin. Artificial skin can be defined as any material designed to replace skin injured by burns or other trauma. The main purpose of artificial skin is to provide a protective barrier against dehydration, protein loss and infection after the skin has been severely damaged. In 1979, the first successful artificial skin treatment was used on a woman who had burns covering approximately fifty percent of her body. About thirty years ago, victims who had half their body burned usually died. Today, victims whose burns cover ninety percent of their body can usually survive thanks to advances in tissue engineering and medicine. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayThe need for artificial skin is very crucial as it can help many people suffering from severe burns and skin diseases. Victims of severe second- and third-degree burns are often treated with artificial skin. Additionally, skin diseases such as diabetic foot ulcers, which are sores on the bottom of the foot caused by diabetes, have recently been treated with artificial skin and this treatment is becoming increasingly popular. Other skin diseases such as recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa occur in infants and children. Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa causes widespread blisters and areas with complete skin loss. Artificial skin has been used to treat recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and has shown good results against the disease. Artificial skin has changed the way doctors and professionals treat injured skin. At the time, the closest thing to artificial skin was skin grafting. Skin grafts were first used by Reverdin in 1871. Although skin grafts have been successful in treating wounds and skin disorders, they have limitations such as immune rejection, infection, availability of healthy skin sites, pain and scarring. That being said, artificial skin may be a better skin substitute because doctors do not have to worry about the availability of donor skin and the risk of the patient rejecting the new skin. One artificial skin product currently on the market is called Apligraf. . Apligraf is one of four artificial skin products approved by the FDA. Apligraf is very similar to real human skin because it has both a living dermis and epidermis. The dermal layer consists of bovine type 1 collagen and human dermal cells. The epidermal layer is made up of keratinocytes or epidermal cells, which separate and multiply to form an epidermal layer similar to the human epidermal layer. Although Apligraf is similar to human skin, it lacks some key components of real skin. Some of these missing components are Langerhans cells, melanocytes, lymphocytes, sweat glands, hair follicles and macrophages..