Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 9380 SW 150th Street, Miami, FL 33157, USA. rmarx@med.miami.edu
Bone is unique in connective tissue healing because it heals entirely by cellular regeneration and the production of a mineral matrix rather than just collagen deposition known as scar. This article discusses the cellular, tissue, and organ levels in each of the following sections--skeletal embryology, normal bone, examples of abnormal bone, and bone graft healing--as they relate to the jaws and the craniofacial skeleton.