Alloplasts

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of synthetic or semi-synthetic material implanted into the body for medical purposes
2. Referring to a technique where foreign substances are grafted onto living tissues to promote healing or support
3. Describing devices or structures made from non-biological elements used in surgical applications or reconstructive procedures

Etymology: "Alloplasts" is the plural of "alloplast," a noun for a synthetic or semi-synthetic material implanted in the body for medical purposes. The singular is built from two Greek elements. The first, "allo-," means "other" or "different," as in "allergy" (literally "other reaction") and "allopathy." The second, "-plast," comes from Greek "plastos," meaning "formed" or "moulded," the same root that gives "plastic" and "protoplasm." Put together, the word describes a material that is "other-formed," meaning something made or shaped outside the body and then placed inside it, in contrast to living tissue, which the body builds for itself. The term is a modern scientific coinage assembled from classical parts, so the Greeks themselves never used it for implants.