RT Book, Section
A1 Böger, Rainer H.
A2 Dieter, Robert S.
A2 Dieter, Raymond A.
A2 Dieter, Raymond A.
SR Print(0)
ID 1127164565
T1 The Endothelium in Health and Disease
T2 Peripheral Arterial Disease
YR 2009
FD 2009
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071481793
LK accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1127164565
RD 2023/03/28
AB Each  and  every  blood  vessel  throughout  the  body  is  covered,  at  its  inner,  luminal  surface,  by  a  monolayer  of  specialized  cells,  i.e.,  the  vascular  endothelial  cells.  This  monolayer  represents  the  primary  anatomical  site  that  separates  the  compartment  of  the  flowing  blood  from  the  body's  interstitium.  Although  spread  throughout  the  body  and  thus  not  easily  discernible,  all  endothelial  cells  together  cover  a  surface  that  has  been  estimated  as  350  m2  (see  Ref.  1)  and  may  count  as  many  as  60  trillion  (6  ×  1013)  cells.2  The  total  weight  of  all  endothelial  cells  has  been  estimated  to  be  between  110  g3  and  750  g,  or  as  much  as  the  liver.4  Recent  scientific  evidence  has  made  clear  that  the  endothelium  may  not  be  less  metabolically  active  than  the  liver.  It  was  25  years  ago  when  the  ground-breaking  experimental  studies  discovered  the  crucial  role  of  the  endothelium  in  regulating  vascular  smooth  muscle  tone  and  coagulation  and  it  was  concluded  that  the  endothelium  is  not  merely  a  passive  barrier.5,6,7