Engineering definition:
A temporary rigid structure to support a building and/or provide a platform for construction workers and materials when working above the ground floor.
Medical definition:
A biological or artificial structure that provides support and maintains tissue contour.
In tissue engineering, a highly porous extracellular matrix of fibers that forms a three-dimensional structure to which living cells can attach. Cells adhere to the scaffold and are encouraged by growth factors. This matrix is usually placed in a bioreactor that keeps the tissue moist and provides mechanical stress to signal the cells to differentiate in the desired way. As the cells develop and integrate with the scaffold, a new tissue is formed in the desired shape.
The word “scaffold” is also used to describe temporary biological structures that are developed in the process of bone repair following a fracture.
Confusion:
Engineers are unlikely to know the alternate meaning of scaffold. However, the word has essentially the same meaning for both groups: a temporary structure used to provide support until the final structure can be completed.
