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Biomaterials are considered with an emphasis on those used in artificial organs. Attention is drawn to the importance of the polymeric biomaterials and factors which affect their properties. Functions of membranes, sorbents, blood tubing, ventricular diaphragms and cell culture substrates are examined in order to obtain a summary of fundamental properties. Observations are made on the importance of blood compatibility assessment and its association with a biomaterial structure-property relationship. Blood-biomaterial interactions are discussed in terms of an overall relationship between the three components--blood, biomaterial and antithrombotic agent, with examples given of factors influencing each component. Cell-biomaterial interactions are examined in the areas of toxicity evaluation and the promotion of cell attachment and growth, where an overall relationship is described for the cell, growth medium and growth factors, and the biomaterial acting as a substrate.