The Normal Aorta: Histology and Function The aorta is the largest artery, by caliber, in the human body. It is the conduit from the heart that extends from the thoracic cavity to the pelvic area where it bifurcates to create…
Introduction Credited to Felix Marchand in a 1904 publication, the name atherosclerosis roughly translates as ‘hardened gruel,’ This colorful term, reminiscent of other culinary metaphors in pathology, underlies many of the most feared and lethal conditions in medicine. Atherosclerosis is…
Introduction Vascular diseases extract a large toll on the human population, both in terms of mortality and quality of life. Vascular disease is in fact the leading cause of death in developed countries. Numerous pathologic conditions alter the structure and/or…
Introduction In light of the premise of angiogenesis as an organizing principle, it is not surprising that drugs that have been developed to modulate angiogenesis can be effective to treat apparently dissimilar conditions. For example, a blinding disease like wet…
Introduction The collective global impact of the spectrum of valvular heart diseases is a serious but under-recognized health problem. In the developed and rapidly developing regions of the world, calcific and degenerative valve diseases are the most prevalent valvular abnormalities…
Introduction In the 1995 World Health Organization (WHO) Definition of Cardiomyopathies , myocarditis (also called inflammatory cardiomyopathy), is defined as an ‘inflammatory disease of the myocardium associated with cardiac dysfunction’ and is listed among ‘specific cardiomyopathies.’ Myocarditis is diagnosed in vivo…
Overview of the Cardiac Conduction System The cardiac conduction system is a network of specialized cells responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of the heartbeat. Relative to the myocytes responsible for regulating cardiac contraction in a normal heart (~1 ×…
Introduction Cardiomyocytes, the contractile cells of the heart, exist in a complex environment comprised of endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle, fibroblasts, and immune cells. The components that form the extracellular matrix provide the structural framework and include protein-rich gap junctions…
Introduction Worldwide, cardiovascular disease, including cardiac disease, vascular diseases of the brain and kidney, and peripheral artery disease, is on the rise and continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both men and women. Despite numerous…
Introduction Heart disease is a common global cause of morbidity and mortality. In the US alone, an estimated 83 million individuals carry the diagnosis and 1 in every 3 deaths are believed due to heart disease. More than 75% of…