Biomaterial science encompasses both material and biological sciences. Residence of a material in biological tissue depends both on material characteristics and on the adjacent tissue. This is what makes this science interdisciplinary. Research into material-tissue interface requires a comprehensive understanding of events in the tissues adjacent to material. This is best understood by microscopic examination of the interface.

Books on biomaterial science abound with details regarding different materials, their physical and chemical characteristics and their interactions with tissue. However, visual detail is what is most informative for the material scientist. This is brought forth in this atlas, which is a collection of gross features and photomicrographs of events taking place at the material-tissue interface. The book brings to the reader first hand details regarding the sequence of events that occur in different tissues following implantation of different types of material. It informs the young researcher briefly of the common procedures used in the laboratory for preparation of tissues for microscopy, how to identify different cells in tissues, and how to assess responses elicited in tissues, essentially how to evaluate whether a material is compatible with tissues or not.