Prophylaxis and treatment of thromboembolism have made one of the major impacts in medicine. Heparin has widely been used as the most effective drug during the last 50 years. However, its potential side effects have led to the search for equally effective but safer alternatives. At present, the low-molecular-weight heparins are the most promising steps in this direction. Considerable interest has been generated at the same time in exploring other gly cosaminoglycans of the nonheparin type for therapeutic use. The existence of these com pounds has been known for a long time and substantial...