| Summary: | The field of biomaterials has seen a rapid expansion in its research discourse. Biomaterials is represented by a diverse array of fields ranging from physics, materials science and engineering to chemistry and molecular biology. Between the 7th (2004) and 10th (2016) World Biomedical Congress (WBC), the most frequently-occurring terms of the abstract corpus shifted from material to biological terms. Earlier works which emphasized materials characterization, with frequently occurring terms such as “electron microscopy”, “spectroscopy”, and “SEM”. By contrast, terms from more recent works reflect a biological nature, such as “growth factor”, “drug”, “expression”, “stem cell”, and “nanoparticles” replacing top positions. Similarly, hip arthoplasty, documented as early as 1840, originated as a surgical pursuit. The introduction of metal-on-polyethylene articulations by the surgeon John Charnley in the 1960s made polyethylene synonymous with hip implants. Subsequently, research efforts focused on using materials as a means to improve the implant performance and lifetime. These patterns are indicative of research priorities moving from material biocompatibility to biofunctionality. From over 5,000 publication records spanning 1990-2018, we use network and bibliometric analysis to identify the knowledge pathway of biomaterials. We found that the emergence of functional materials signals sufficient fundamental material and clinical understanding. These scientific activities in biomaterials contribute to innovations of significant societal impact that can improve the quality and care of the end-user. With the broader vision of predicting future needs and directions, we look to the past to trace the biomaterial knowledge pathway evolutio
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