Modern visualisation of the endothelium

Abstract

Modern visualisation of the endothelium J.M. Polak; Amsterdam; 1998; Harwood Academic; 243 pages; $85.00. Modern visualisation of the endothelium is the fourth volume in a series entitled “The endothelial cell research series,” which aims to provide readers with reviews of basic and clinical research related to the endothelium. As the title suggests, the purpose of this text is to present the latest technical and conceptual advances in visualization of the endothelium and how they relate to the production of regulatory molecules in physiologic and disease states. The target audience as outlined by the authors includes cell biologists, anatomists, pathologists, biochemists and physiologists. The book is broadly divided into three parts. The first part addresses the cytology, ultrastructure, and chemical mediators of normal endothelium. This section of the text offers extensive reviews of electron-immunocytochemistry of vasoactive agents, localization of mediators in the endothelium, neurovascular interactions, endothelial and matrix interactions, and a chapter on the renin-angiotensin system. Part two is entitled “Disease” but disappointingly deals only with two subsets of the endothelium in disease: inflammation and the modulation of the secretion of von Willebrand factor from endothelial cells. The final part of the text is called “Imaging.” A chapter on in vivo imaging and how it correlates with endothelial morphology deals with intravascular ultrasound scanning and angioscopy. The inclusion of a section describing the widely used method of duplex ultrasound scanning to “visualize” endothelial dysfunction in humans would have been useful. The final chapter is an excellent review of targeted gene manipulation and gene transfer in studying the endothelium. As with many multi-authored texts, the quality of the chapters varies, with some of the chapters being devoted almost exclusively to the author’s research rather than a comprehensive review. Generally, however, the chapters are well written and complete. A particular strength of this text is that the references are exhaustive and up to date, particularly considering the speed at which this area of investigation is moving. The numerous figures depicting histology and cellular ultrastructure are clearly reproduced and well captioned. Despite the title, some of the chapters deal almost entirely with endothelial physiology and pathophysiology and say little about endothelial visualization, thus detracting from the cohesiveness of the text. In summary, this is a valuable book, which includes current reviews of a topic that has not been extensively covered in the past 15 years. It is generally concise, readable, and complete. Although it is obviously not for all vascular surgeons, this book is to be recommended for those with an active basic research interest in vascular wall biology where they will find the references alone an invaluable resource.