autograft
Pronunciation: AW-toh-graft
Bone or soft tissue harvested from the same patient and transplanted to a different site to support implant placement or regeneration.
Full Definition
An autograft (autogenous graft) is biological material—bone, connective tissue, or epithelium—taken from one site within the same individual and transferred to a deficient site. In implant dentistry, autogenous bone is considered the gold standard graft material due to its osteogenic, osteoinductive, and osteoconductive properties. Common donor sites include the chin, ramus, iliac crest, and tibial plateau. Editors must distinguish autograft from allograft (donor of the same species), xenograft (donor of a different species), and alloplast (synthetic material). The term is spelled as one unhyphenated word and requires no capitalisation unless it begins a sentence.
Usage
Usage note: One unhyphenated word. Editorial consistency requires distinguishing this clearly from allograft and xenograft; these three terms are a frequent source of confusion in clinical manuscripts.
In Context
- "A block autograft harvested from the chin was used to reconstruct the severely resorbed anterior ridge." — Operative Report
- "The use of autograft material was documented in the pathology and surgical sections of the patient's record." — Hospital Discharge Summary