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Information about Endothelium

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Anatomy of the arterial wall
This article is about the lining of blood vessels. For the endothelium of the cornea, see corneal endothelium


The endothelium is the thin layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall. Endothelial cells line the entire circulatory system, from the heart to the smallest capillary. These cells reduce friction of the flow of blood allowing the fluid to be pumped further.

Endothelial tissue is a specialized type of epithelium tissue (one of the four types of biological tissue in animals). More specifically, it is simple squamous epithelium.

Endothelium of the interior surfaces of the heart chambers are called endocardium. Both blood and lymphatic capillaries are composed of a single layer of endothelial cells.

Function

Endothelial cells are involved in many aspects of vascular biology, including: Endothelial cells also control the passage of materials — and the transit of white blood cells — into and out of the bloodstream.

In some organs, there are highly differentiated endothelial cells to perform specialized 'filtering' functions. Examples of such unique endothelial structures include the renal glomerulus and the blood-brain barrier.

Pathology

Endothelial dysfunction, or the loss of proper endothelial function, is a hallmark for vascular diseases, and often leads to atherosclerosis. This is very common in patients with diabetes mellitus, hypertension or other chronic pathophysiological conditions. One of the main mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction is the diminishing of nitric oxide, often due to high levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine, which interfer with the normal L-arginine-stimulated nitric oxide synthesis.

See also

External links

Enlarge picture
Anatomy of the arterial wall

References

  • Molecular Biology of the CELL, 4th edition, Alberts et al., 2002
The blood vessels are part of the cardiovascular system and function to transport blood throughout the body. The most important types, arteries and veins, carry blood away from or towards the heart, respectively.
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The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber, providing most of an eye's optical power.[1] Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light, and as a result helps the eye to focus, accounting for approximately
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For the lining of blood vessels, see endothelium


The corneal endothelium is a monolayer of specialized, flattened, mitochondria-rich cells that lines the posterior surface of the cornea and faces the anterior chamber of the eye.
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The blood vessels are part of the cardiovascular system and function to transport blood throughout the body. The most important types, arteries and veins, carry blood away from or towards the heart, respectively.
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Blood is a specialized biological fluid consisting of red blood cells (also called RBCs or erythrocytes), white blood cells (also called leukocytes) and platelets (also called thrombocytes) suspended in a complex fluid medium known as blood plasma.
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A lumen (pl. lumina) is an inner space, lining or cavity.
  • The interior of a vessel within the body, such as the small central space in an artery or vein, or any of their relating vessels through which blood flows.

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Circulatory System is a psychedelic rock musical ensemble formed by musician/painter Will Cullen Hart, and featuring Hannah Jones, Derek Almstead, Peter Erchick, John Fernandes, and Heather McIntosh.
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heart is a muscular organ responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in the annelids, mollusks, and arthropods.
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capillary is used to describe any very narrow tube or channel through which a fluid can pass. See capillary action for details.


Capillaries are the smallest of a body's blood vessels, measuring 5-10 μm, which connect arterioles and venules, and are
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Friction is the force of two surfaces in contact. It is not a fundamental force, as it is derived from electromagnetic forces between atoms. When contacting surfaces move relative to each other, the friction between the two objects converts kinetic energy into thermal energy, or
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epithelium is a tissue composed of a layer of cells. Epithelium lines both the outside (skin) and the inside cavities and lumen of bodies. The outermost layer of our skin is composed of dead stratified squamous, keratinized epithelial cells.
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Biological tissue is a collection of interconnected cells that perform a similar function within an organism.

The study of tissue is known as histology, or, in connection with disease, histopathology.
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squamous epithelium (from Latin squama, "scale") is an epithelium characterised by its most superficial layer consisting of flat, scale-like cells called squamous cells.
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In the heart, the endocardium is the innermost layer of tissue that lines the chambers of the heart. Its cells, embryologically and biologically, are similar to the endothelial cells that line blood vessels.
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Vasoconstriction is a narrowing of the lumen of blood vessels.

Factors

Factors that trigger vasoconstriction are both of exogenous origin, i.e. medication, and as a response from the body itself.

Body mechanisms

Vasoconstriction is a procedure of the body to e.g.
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A vasodilator is a drug or chemical that relaxes the smooth muscle in blood vessels, which causes them to dilate. Dilation of arterial blood vessels (mainly arterioles) lead to a decrease in blood pressure.
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Blood pressure (strictly speaking: vascular pressure) refers to the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs.
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Coagulation is a complex process by which blood forms solid clots. It is an important part of hemostasis (the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel) whereby a damaged blood vessel wall is covered by a platelet- and fibrin-containing clot to stop bleeding and begin repair of
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MeSH D013927 Thrombosis is the formation of a clot or thrombus inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. Thromboembolism is a general term describing both thrombosis and its main complication which is embolisation.
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Fibrinolysis is the process where a fibrin clot, the product of coagulation, is broken down. Its main enzyme, plasmin, cuts the fibrin mesh at various places, leading to the production of circulating fragments that are cleared by other proteinases or by the kidney and liver.
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Atherosclerosis
Classification & external resources

Changes in endothelial dysfunction in atherosclerosis (note text comments about geometry error)
ICD-10 I 70.
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Angiogenesis is a physiological process involving the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels. Though there has been some debate over this, vasculogenesis is the term used for spontaneous blood-vessel formation, and intussusception is the term for new blood vessel
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Inflammation (Latin, inflammatio, to set on fire) is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants.
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Edema
Classifications and external resources

ICD-10 R 60.9
ICD-9 782.3

DiseasesDB 9148

This page is about the medical condition. For the rock band, see Adema.

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White blood cells or leukocytes are cells of the immune system which defend the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Several different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone
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glomerulus is a capillary tuft surrounded by Bowman's capsule in nephrons of the vertebrate kidney. It receives its blood supply from an afferent arteriole of the renal circulation.
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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a membranic structure that acts primarily to protect the brain from chemicals in the blood, while still allowing essential metabolic function. It is composed of endothelial cells, which are packed very tightly in brain capillaries.
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Endothelial dysfunction is a physiological dysfunction of normal biochemical processes carried out by the endothelium, the cells that line the inner surface of all blood vessels including arteries and veins (as well as the innermost lining of the heart and lymphatics.
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Atherosclerosis
Classification & external resources

Changes in endothelial dysfunction in atherosclerosis (note text comments about geometry error)
ICD-10 I 70.
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