This book is derived from a Symposium held at the 190th National American Chemical Society Meeting, which was held in the Fall of 1985, in Chicago, and was sponsored by the Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering. This Symposium was, in turn, a follow-up on an earlier one held in Houston, TX, in the Spring of 1980, which was pub­ lished as the book ·Biomedical and Dental Applications of Polymers· [Plenum Press, New York, 1981]. In that earlier book, our opening Preface passage quoted King David, ·1 will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and made . .. . (Psalm 139:14). As we noted five years ago, sickness wonderfully of many types does occur in our wonderfully made bodies, but much human suffering can be aided by biomedical polymers. That earlier book con­ sidered much of the fantastic progress that had been made in biomedical polymers during the previous quarter century and brought many of these topics up to date. That Symposium, and book, noted that much help was available for the varied afflictions and problems that sometimes beset, and upset, our God-given bodies, and the promise of new and important advances was held out as a shining ray of hope amidst the gloom of sickness and affliction. The present volume is an update on the advances that have occurred since the 1981 book and sets the stage for even greater advances in the future.

Regeneration of Sciatic Nerve Across 15mm Gap By Use of a Polymeric Template.- Temporary Wound Covering: Effect of Chemical Modification.- Custom Hade Silicone Implants in Facial Contour Reconstruction.- Themoplastic Chlorinated Polyethylene for Maxillofacial Prostheses.- Experience Over 10 Years With a New Implanting Polymer "Osteomesh" Used with Bone Grafts in Craniomaxillofacial Rehabilitation.- Polyphosphazine Fluoroelastomer (PNF) as a Permanent Soft Liner for Removable Dentures.- New Fluoropolymers for Potential Medical Applications.- The Evolution of Polyurethane Orthopaedic Polymeric Casting Systems.- Totally Resorbable High-Strength Composite Material.- Body Absorbable Osteosynthesis Devices.- Crosslinkable Polyesters for Biomedical Composites (1).- Synthesis and Properties of Polymers for Biodegradable Implants.- New Finger Joint Implantable Prosthesis in an Ex-Vivo Model: Biostereometric Studies.- Calcification of Polymeric Biomaterials in Long-Term Cardiovascular Uses.- Metal Ion Complexation of Poly(Ether)Urethanes.- Environmental Stress Cracking in Implanted Polyurethane Devices.- Metal Catalyzed Oxidative Degradation of Implanted Polyurethane Devices.- A Collagen-Dacron Composite Vascular Graft for Arterial Reconstructions.- Design and In Vitro Testing of Newly Made Bicomponent Knitted Fabrics for Vascular Surgery.- Sodium Neutralization in a Polyethylene Ionomer and Blood/Material Interactions in an InVivo Canine Model.- Surface Characteristics of Polyethylene Oxide-Polystyrene Multiblock Copolymers.- Fibrinogen/Platelet Interaction with PGI2 Analog-Heparin Immobilized Albuminated Polyurethane.- On the Blood Compatibility of a Heparin-Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel.- New Heparinizable Materials: Surface Grafting of Poly (Amido Amine) Chains onPolyurethane.- The Synthesis of Some Potentially Blood Compatible Heparin-Like Polymeric Biomaterials.- Chitin and Chitosan for Use as a Novel Biomedical Material.- A Study of Liposome-Type Artificial Red Blood Cells Stabilized with Carboxymethyl Chitin.- Polymeric Platinol Derivative of Methotrexate for the Treatment of Virally Related Juvenile Diabetes.- Antibacterial and Antitumoral Activity of Selected Polyphosphonoanhydrides and Polyphosphoroanhydrides.- Elastomeric Polypeptide Biomaterials: Introduction of Hexapeptide Repeats (Hard Segments) in the Polypentapeptide.- Polymer Modification by Radiation Grafting in the Presence of Salt Additives and Its Application in Enzyme Immobilization.- Use of Organic Cosolvents for Enhanced Leaching of HEMA/MAA Copolymers.- Efficient Removal of Excess Inorganic Phosphate by Hemoperfusion.- Contributors.