Later, vascular tone was thought to be controlled solely by vascular smooth muscle. A more current dynamic view of the behavior of healthy and diseased arterial vessels focuses on endothelial function. The field of vascular medicine has emerged in the past three decades, with major developments in the area of cell biology, imaging techniques, preventive strategies, and revascularization procedures. A convergence of basic science, technology,and clinical practice allows the implementation of a perspective that unifies an approach to patient care in which each patient is considered as a complex unit of interrelated systems. In addition, disorders of the venous and lymphatic systems, congenital malformations, vascular trauma, and neoplastic diseases may all be included.
Vascular medicine is a rapidly growing field.
The Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology has recently been formed, and its research is now published in international peer-reviewed journals. Osteopathic physicians play a major role in the practice of vascular medicine in the United States and are leaders in clinical practice, research, and education at major medical institutions. This two-part supplement of JAOA reviews some of the highlights of vascular medicine, with special emphasis on clinical pathways in patient care. It focuses on those subjects that are most likely to fall within the everyday practice of primary care physicians, internists, neurologists, and vascular surgeons. They define the parameters of vascular medicine and illustrate some of the risk factors of vascular disease.