Blood Platelet Function and Medicinal Chemistry

Abstract

One hundred years after the discovery of platelets in blood by Giulio Bizzozero ( Arch Pathol Anat 1882;90: 261), these extraordinarily explosive and versatile cells are now recognized not only as integral components of hemostasis but also as participants in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, vascular disease, and perhaps even malignant transformation and proliferation. In this volume, Lasslo has brought together current knowledge of some of the most exciting areas of platelet physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. The chapters contain discussions of the role of platelets in cardiovascular disease, platelet ultrastructure, normal and abnormal platelet function, endothelial physiology, and interactions between platelets and artificial surfaces and between platelets and medicinal and chemical agents. The title of the book is somewhat misleading, because the scope of the work is much broader than implied by its focus on medicinal chemistry; it is, in fact, a general review of platelet function in health and disease. The