[Historical development of the cholesterol-atherosclerosis concept].

The development of the cholesterol hypothesis to the cholesterol theory, as related to atherogenesis, is followed in chronological sequence. The major milestones in terms of chemical pathology of the lesions, clinical observations on serum cholesterol levels in patients with coronary heart disease, lipoprotein research, epidemiological investigations and prevention of diseases due to atherosclerosis are described within three time periods: from the 19th till the beginning of the 20th century, the years between the two World Wars and the last 40 years. A total picture emerges which assigns to cholesterol and its lipoprotein carriers a key role in the origins and progression of atherosclerosis. These causal relationships have opened the way to the prevention of the disease, supported by intervention studies aimed at reduction of serum cholesterol levels.