This volume was born out of a yearning to develop a synthesis of the field of endothelial biology from bench to bedside. The book has several important – and complementary – goals. These are discussed in turn:

CELEBRATE THE HISTORY OF THE FIELD

William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of blood in 1628 is considered to be one of the greatest achievements in the annals of science and medicine. Another 200 years would pass before Wilhelm His, a Swiss anatomist, “discovered” the endothelium. In the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, most investigators employed physiological tools to study the role of the endothelium in inflammation and permeability. In the 1960s, electron microscopy opened a new window into the endothelium, providing a fascinating glimpse into the structure (and, by inference, the function) of this cell layer. The successful in vitro culture of endothelial cells (ECs) in the 1970s marked the beginning of a new era in endothelial biology, spawning some 100,000 articles in peer-reviewed journals over the next 40 years. More recently, there has been an increased awareness of the need to study the endothelium in the context of its native environment. To that end, investigators have made remarkable progress in integrating in vitro and in vivo model systems. An important goal of this book is to highlight the rich historical foundation upon which today's field is built. The first chapter charts the history of vascular and endothelial biology. Subsequent chapters integrate – wherever possible – relevant historical considerations.

APPROACH THE ENDOTHELIAL CELL AS AN INPUT-OUTPUT DEVICE

Part II of the book is centered on the analogy of the EC as a miniature adaptive input-output device.