Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders are common and difficult to remedy. Tissue engineering is one alternative that seeks to improve TMJ sugical treatment options. Tissue engineering aims to replace diseased or injured tissue with biologically engineered constructs. These constructs should reproduce native function and limit an immune response. To achieve tissue engineering success, it is important to first understand the tissue's cellular, biochemical and mechanical properties in order to create validation and design criteria. Reviewd herein are the known properties of the TMJ disc and initial attempts toward TMJ disc tissue engineering. Important aspects of tissue engineering are scaffold selection, cell source, biochemical factors, and mechanical stimuli
