The pulmonary endothelium: function in health and disease

The entire cardiac output passes through the lung with every heartbeat. The pulmonary endothelium lining the pulmonary circulation has enormous surface area and interacts with both blood and underlying vascular smooth muscle. Of the 40 different lung cell types, 46% are endothelial cells and there has been an enormous increase in understanding of the pulmonary endothelium in the past 30years, including both normal function and its role in a variety of diseases, particularly pulmonary hypertension and emphysema, as well as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and lung cancer. Consequently, the pulmonary endothelium is the focus of research in many different fields, as its role in the aetiology and pathophysiology of lung disease is elucidated and possible strategies for therapy are identified. This text brings together the body of knowledge that currently exists, and explores how this knowledge may be applied in the future to increase our understanding of disease and develop new types of treatment.

• ISBN: 978-0-470-72361-6
• Editorial: John Wiley & Sons
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 528
• Fecha Publicación: 25/09/2009
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés