Normal and pathological aspects of mass transport across the vascular wall

The rapid progress in cardiovascular surgery during the past 10 years has been matched by a complementary increase in the understanding of underlying cellular and molecular aspects of normal and pathological physiology of blood vessels. This review focuses on one aspect of vascular biology, namely the transport of macromolecules and water across the vascular wall, with particular attention to the role of endothelial permeability, and offers a bridge between the basic biological sciences and clinical care.