Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4rdrl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-06T16:31:43.110Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

151 - The Role of the Endothelium in Normal and Pathologic Thyroid Function

from PART III - VASCULAR BED/ORGAN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2010

Jamie Mitchell
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Anthony Hollenberg
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Sareh Parangi
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
William C. Aird
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Get access

Summary

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from existing vessels, has been recognized as playing an important role in the pathophysiology of many benign and malignant diseases (1,2). This chapter focuses on the role of the endothelium in the thyroid gland and explores the advances that have been made in our understanding of how the process of angiogenesis is involved in the pathophysiology of benign and malignant diseases of this gland.

HISTORY OF ENDOTHELIAL BIOLOGY IN THE THYROID

The structure and function of the thyroid gland has been the intense focus of study by physiologists, anatomists, surgeons, and basic scientists. Most attention has focused on the thyroid follicular cell, one of the most thoroughly studied cells in the human body. By comparison, the thyroid endothelium has received little attention. In the mid 1970s, there was increasing recognition that the endothelium of endocrine organs, including the thyroid, played an important role in homeostasis. At first, microscopy was used to study the structural detail of the fenestrated endothelium present in normal rat thyroid (3) as well as benign and malignant human thyroid tissue (4). The importance of angiogenesis in the progression of malignant disease was recognized during the early 1970s, with the realization by Folkman and colleagues that, for malignant tumor growth to progress beyond approximately 2 mm in diameter, the development of a vascular supply must occur (5). The role of endothelial cell (EC) proliferation in thyroid disorders was appreciated as early as 1978, with work performed by Wollman and colleagues (6).

Type
Chapter
Information
Endothelial Biomedicine , pp. 1386 - 1396
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×