The pathology of atherosclerosis with particular reference to the effects of hyperlipidaemia

A brief description has been given of the major processes involved in the genesis of atherosclerosis, and of the morphological features of fatty streaks, gelatinous elevations and fibrolipid plaques. The effects of hyperlipidaemia, genetically and dietarily determined, are described, with special reference to the possible role of macrophages in the development of arterial lesions caused by such hyperlipidaemias. The administration of a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase (lovastatin) to genetically hyperlipidaemic rabbits markedly reduced the extent of intimal surface involvement by lipid-rich lesions.