............................................................................................................................................ 14 Lay abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Declaration ........................................................................................................................................ 16 Copyright statement ......................................................................................................................... 16 Dedication ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... 18 The Author ........................................................................................................................................ 19 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 20 1.1 Justification of the Project ...................................................................................................... 20 1.2 Tendon function, structure and composition ......................................................................... 20 1.3 Tendon development .............................................................................................................. 28 1.4 Sources of cells for tendon bioengineering ............................................................................ 30 1.5 Cell-based tendon bioengineering strategies ......................................................................... 37 1.5.1 Fibrin and collagen based tendon-like constructs ........................................................... 37 1.5.2 Alternative tendon bioengineering strategies ................................................................. 41 1.6 Aims, objectives, hypotheses and significance ....................................................................... 44 1.6.1 Aims.................................................................................................................................. 44 1.6.2 Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 44 1.6.3 Hypotheses....................................................................................................................... 44 1.6.4 Significance of the study .................................................................................................. 45 CHAPTER 2: MATERIALS AND METHODS .......................................................................................... 46 2.1 Ethical Statement .................................................................................................................... 46 2.2 Growth Conditions of Chick Eggs ............................................................................................ 46 2.3 Isolation of Cells from the Chick Tendon ................................................................................ 46