Mesenchymal stem cells are derived from mature bone marrow and have the potential to differentiate from many mesenchymal lineages into different types of mesodermal cells, including adipocytes, chondrocytes or osteoblasts. Chondrocytes constitute the cellular matrix of cartilage, called endochondral ossification, and are embedded in the cartilage matrix to maintain its integrity. While osteoblasts secrete bone matrix, called intramembranous ossification, for remodeling of bone to restore its form and function. Thus, mesenchymal stem cells are an important factor in bone healing because they represent the progenitors of osteoblasts and chondrocytes (Aubin, 1998). The German pathologist Cohnheim (1867) was the first known person to suggest the existence of stem cells for therapeutic purposes. outside the hematopoietic cells of the bone marrow. No translation of Cohnheim's work could be found, however, according to Prockop (1997, p. 71), Cohnheim derived this theory through his experiments on wound repair. His method involved injecting an insoluble anal dye into the veins of animals. He created wounds at distal sites of the body and looked for the presence of cells containing the dye. From this experiment, he discovered that the majority of cells appearing at the site contained the dye, thus inferring that they came from the bloodstream and, in fact, bone marrow. These cells included inflammatory cells and cells with fibroblast-like morphology. Therefore, Cohnheim's findings raised the likelihood that, in the process of wound healing, the source of the fibroblasts that lay down collagen fibers may actually be the bone marrow. Successively, in the mid-1970s, the pioneer Friedenstein found conclusive evidence that b. .... middle of paper ...... Omal cells as stem cells for non-hematopoietic tissues. Science, 276(5309), 71-74. doi: 10.1126/science.276.5309.71 Sanvoranart, T., Supokawej, A., Kheolamai, P., U-pratya, Y., Klincumhom, N., Manochantr, S., Wattanapanitch, M., Issaragrisil, S. ( 2014). Bortezomib enhances the osteogenic differentiation capacity of human mesenchymal stromal cells derived from bone marrow and placental tissues. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 447(4), 580-585. doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/10.1016/j.bbrc.2014.04.044 Wakitani, S., Mitsuoka, T., Nakamura, N., Toritsuka, Y., Nakamura, Y., Horibe, S. (2004). Autologous bone marrow stromal cell transplantation for repair of full-thickness articular cartilage defects in the human patella: two case reports. Cell Transplantation, 13(5), 595-600. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15565871