Autograft
A graft harvested from the patient's own body and transplanted to a different site within the same individual.
Full Definition
In periodontics, an autograft refers to bone or soft tissue taken from a donor site within the same patient — commonly the chin, ramus, or palate — and placed at a recipient site requiring regeneration or augmentation. Because donor and recipient are the same individual, immunological rejection is eliminated. Autografts are considered the gold standard for osteogenic potential. Editors must distinguish this term from allograft (donor tissue from another human) and xenograft (tissue from another species), both of which are already in the database.
Usage
Usage note: Do not hyphenate. Distinguish clearly from alloplast, allograft, and xenograft in any document listing graft types.
In Context
- "The surgeon harvested cancellous bone from the retromolar region to use as an autograft at the defect site." — Surgical case report
- "An autograft was preferred over a synthetic material given the patient's favorable donor-site availability." — Treatment-planning note