Buildings. Bridges. Jet engines. That’s the beauty of 3D printing: you can create virtually anything. It could be argued that it’s also worst thing about 3D printing, with nothing stopping you making a fully working gun or a personalised 3D-printed fetus paperweight – should you want your colleagues to move desks.

But, back in the sane world, inventors have seen great potential in the technology, and no other field is more exciting than medicine. Here are five examples of 3D-printed technology that could well be helping doctors, nurses, students and patients over the upcoming years:

3D-printed bones

We’ve covered 3D-printed bones before. A quick refresher: scientists at the University of Nottingham have managed to create a Play-Doh style material that can be printed into any bone of your choosing. Not only that, but the material has been designed to let in cells and proteins.

See related Dead hearts revived for transplant with new medical technology Rats kick cocaine and alcohol with off-the-shelf blood pressure medication Thx 4 bld :) Swedish donors sent SMS when their blood saves a life But it’s still subject to clinical trials. For the here and now, we’ve seen a handful of real-world results in more conventional materials. Back in 2012, an 83-year-old woman got a 3D-printed lower jaw in the Netherlands, and just this week, a man in Spain received the world’s first 3D-printed rib to replace a section of his chest lost to sarcoma.

According to Adam Knight of CSIRO – the company that printed the rib – the real advantage of this technology is that custom-fitted bones can be made to order on the same day: “The advantage of 3D printing is its rapid prototyping. When you’re waiting for life-saving surgery, this is the definitely the order of the day.”

3D-printed organs

In contrast, 3D-printed organs are still very much in their infancy, but their potential is massive. If scientists can create fully-functioning organs to order, long transplant waiting lists could vanish overnight.

You’ll have to wait for a fully working heart or lung, but developments are being made all the time. Just last year, scientists from Sydney and Harvard universities overcame the seemingly insurmountable challenge of printing fully-functioning blood vessels. In the TED talk below, surgeon Anthony Atala runs through the challenges and potential of a 3D-printed kidney:

We’re some way away from a full transplant, though. Just making a replica of an organ doesn’t mean it will function as we expect in the human body. As Cornell engineer Hod Lipson puts it: “You can put the cells of a heart tissue in the right place together, but where’s the start button? The magic happens after the printing has taken place.”

3D-printed rats for dissection

I love the concept of this: it’s so simple, and yet so brilliant.

Not only is cutting up rats in science class not ideal for the rats involved, it’s also problematic for vegetarian children and too expensive for poorer schools to maintain as part of their curriculum. The answer? 3D-printed rats.

A replica rat has the same innards as a previously living, breathing rodent, with none of the ethical concerns, and each imitation cadaver is around a quarter of the cost of a real one. Better still, the people behind the concept, Bart Taylor and Tara Whittle, are planning to make the schematics free for schools to download and print themselves. “A few people just couldn’t believe it. We’re not looking to sell this,” said Whittle.

3D-printed pills

If bones, organs and rats can be printed, then pharmaceuticals shouldn’t be a challenge. The bigger issue is regulation, but the first hurdle was passed in America last month when the first 3D-printed drug received FDA approval. It’s Spritam levetiracetam, and reduces seizures for those with epilepsy.

The real advantage of this technique is that, unlike traditional pills, the dosage can be measured more precisely. This could lead to specific doses for different patients, ensuring their requirements are met by their own personalised pill.

There are potential problems with this, most notably the booming counterfeit drugs market. But, there are ways around that particular issue, such as the encrypted blueprints described in the above TED talk from Glasgow University’s Lee Cronin.

3D-printed medical tools

If pills can be made, why not equipment? No reason at all, as a number of enterprising individuals have shown.

Take Tarek Loubani, a doctor working in Gaza City. The blockade between Gaza and the neighbouring countries of Israel and Egypt was causing serious problems in the hospital, such as serious shortages of equipment. Loubani got around the problem by designing his own 3D-printed stethoscopes through the Glia Project, where working models can be manufactured for just $2.50 per print.

Field Ready takes a similar approach, manufacturing medical supplies in the field where crises are in progress, such as the earthquakes in Haiti in 2010 and Nepal earlier this year.

While 3D-printed tools aren’t a necessity in most Western hospitals, it’s reassuring to know that the printing revolution isn’t leaving the developing world behind.

Images: Keith Kissel, ArtBrom, Anatomics, Frank Wojciechowski, Mattza, Jasleen Kaur.