The advances made in vascular biology in the last 25 years have considerably changed the perception that one could have of the endothelial cells. Once considered as a diffusion barrier preventing the access of the blood cells to the vascular matrix, the endothelium is now recognized as playing a major role in the control of blood fluidity, platelet aggregation, and vascular tone, but also in immunology, inflammation, angiogenesis, and for serving...