Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels as outgrowths of existing ones; it occurs during ovulation and wound healing, but is also associated with about 50 diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and arthritis, and precedes neoplastic transformation. Some 30 papers from a workshop in Porto

Angiogenesis describes the formation of new blood vessels, which arise as outgrowths from existing vessels. In many physiological processes such as ovulation and wound healing angiogenesis is involved for a relatively short time. Otherwise under normal physiological conditions in the adult organism angiogenesis is an extremely slow process. By contrast in certain disease states such as diabetic retinopathy, arthritis, chronic inflammation, hemangiomas, etc., angiogenesis persists and contributes to the pathology of these disease states. Some 50 such "angiogenic diseases" have been described...

Angiogenesis is a multistep process, which involves activation, proliferation and directed migration of endothelial cells to form new capillaries from existing vessels. Under physiological conditions, in the adult organisms angiogenesis is extremely slow, yet it can be activated for a limited time only in situations such as ovulation or wound healing. In a number of disease states, however, there is a derangement of angiogenesis, which can contribute to the pathology of these conditions. Hence, understanding the molecular biology of endothelial cell activation and differentiation and the...