Stem cells have currently gained attention in the field of medicine not only due to their ability to repair dysfunctional or damaged cells, but also they could be used as drug delivery system after being engineered to do so. Human umbilical cord is attractive source for autologous and allogenic stem cells that are currently amenable to treatment of various diseases. Human umbilical cord stem cells are -in contrast to embryonic and fetal stem cells- ethically noncontroversial, inexpensive and readily available source of cells. Umbilical cord, umbilical cord vein, amnion/placenta and Wharton's jelly are all rich of many types of multipotent stem cell populations capable of forming many different cell types. This review will focus on umbilical cord stem cells processing and current application in medicine.

中文翻译：

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脐带干细胞：背景，加工和应用。

目前，干细胞不仅由于其修复功能障碍或受损细胞的能力而在医学领域引起了关注，而且经过改造后可以用作药物递送系统。人脐带是自体和同种异体干细胞的诱人来源，自体和同种异体干细胞目前可用于治疗各种疾病。与胚胎干细胞和胎儿干细胞相反，人脐带血干细胞在伦理上无争议，便宜且易于获得。脐带，脐带静脉，羊膜/胎盘和沃顿胶冻都富含许多能形成许多不同细胞类型的多能干细胞群体。这项审查将侧重于脐带血干细胞的加工和目前在医学中的应用。