Book excerpt: Bio-Instructive Scaffolds for Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine explores musculoskeletal tissue growth and development across populations, ranging from elite athletes to the elderly. The regeneration and reparation of musculoskeletal tissues present the unique challenges of requiring both the need to withstand distinct forces applied to the body and ability to support cell populations. The book is separated into sections based on tissue type, including bone, cartilage, ligament and tendon, muscle, and musculoskeletal tissue interfaces. Within each tissue type, the chapters are subcategorized into strategies focused on cells, hydrogels, polymers, and other materials (i.e. ceramics and metals) utilized in musculoskeletal tissue engineering applications. In each chapter, the relationships that exist amongst the strategy, stem cell differentiation and somatic cell specialization at the intracellular level are emphasized. Examples include intracellular signaling through growth factor delivery, geometry sensing of the surrounding network, and cell signaling that stems from altered population dynamics. - Presents a self-contained work for the field of musculoskeletal tissue engineering and regenerative medicine - Focuses on how materials of structures can be designed to be resistant while promoting viable grafts - Contains major tissue types that are covered with a strategy for each material and structure