Endothelial Dysfunction

Abstract

The endothelium is the inner layer of the blood vessel wall and is in direct contact with the blood. Apart from lining the vessel, it has important functions including the release of substances that regulate vascular tone. One of these factors is nitric oxide (NO) that leads to vasorelaxation. In this chapter, we describe some of the physiological functions of the endothelium and methods to study endothelial function, in particular endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation, in basic and clinical research.