The content from these proceedings comes from a symposium honoring Larry Hench, a pioneer in the field of bioceramics. Prof. Hench has condensed his Sosman Lecture into the keynote paper of this volume. In addition, this proceedings draws together research in the different aspects of bioceramics and illustrates its unifying themes. Apatites and active bone substitute materials are well represented, with extended analyses of processing effects and variations in making these materials more functional. Included in this volume are a series of papers on interactions between ceramics and biological environments with some much needed analysis of why ceramics succeed or don't in vivo. Proceedings of a symposium to honor Larry Hench at the 105th annual meeting of The American Ceramic Society, April 27-30, 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee; Ceramic Transactions, Volume 147.