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 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…