xenograft
Pronunciation: ZEE-noh-graft
Bone graft material derived from a species other than human, most commonly bovine or porcine origin, used to augment deficient bone at implant sites.
Full Definition
In implant dentistry, a xenograft is a bone substitute sourced from a non-human animal — typically deproteinised bovine bone mineral (DBBM) — that provides an osteoconductive scaffold for new bone formation. Unlike autografts (from the patient) or allografts (from human donors), xenografts carry no osteogenic cells and limited osteoinductive potential. They are valued for their slow resorption rate and wide availability. Editors must distinguish among autograft, allograft, xenograft, and alloplast, as misuse of these terms in clinical manuscripts is a common error. The word is one unhyphenated unit; the variant 'xeno-graft' is non-standard.
Usage
Usage note: Always one unhyphenated word. When the animal source is specified, use 'bovine xenograft' or 'porcine xenograft' rather than the proprietary brand name alone. Distinguish carefully from allograft (human donor) and alloplast (synthetic).
In Context
- "A mixture of autogenous bone chips and bovine xenograft was used to fill the extraction socket prior to delayed implant placement." — Surgical technique paper
- "The methods section incorrectly labeled the deproteinised bovine bone mineral as an 'allograft'; the editor corrected this to 'xenograft'." — Manuscript correction note