Fishman A P
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1982;401:1-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1982.tb25702.x.
A historical survey of the growth of ideas about the circulation of the blood and about the endothelium is provided as a background to the specialized papers that follow. Over the years, in the course of clarifying its structure and function, the status of the endothelium has gradually evolved from that of an inert semipermeable barrier that determines the exchange of substances between blood vessels and tissue spaces to that of a specialized organ that is unusual in its dispersion throughout the body as the lining of blood vessels. This unique arrangement has enabled it to play different roles in different parts of the vascular tree and in different organs and to manifest distinctive responses to injury according to its structure and location. As a corollary, because its responsiveness is strongly influenced by its ambience and neighboring tissues, it seems inevitable that extrapolations from function in vitro to function in vivo require considerable prudence.
作为后续专业论文的背景，本文对有关血液循环和内皮细胞的观念发展进行了历史回顾。多年来，在阐明其结构和功能的过程中，内皮细胞的地位已逐渐从一个决定血管与组织间隙之间物质交换的惰性半透屏障，演变为一个作为血管内衬遍布全身的特殊器官。这种独特的分布使其能够在血管系统的不同部位以及不同器官中发挥不同作用，并根据其结构和位置对损伤表现出独特反应。由此推论，由于其反应性受周围环境和邻近组织的强烈影响，从体外功能推断体内功能时需格外谨慎，这似乎是不可避免的。
