Life and health

Endoscopic vacuum therapy

Endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT), also called endoluminal vacuum therapy or Endovac, is an endoscopic treatment that closes gastrointestinal leaks, perforations, and anastomotic dehiscence with a sponge under negative pressure.

Endoscopy

Endoscopy: visual examination of internal organs with a lighted, camera-bearing tube. Spans Bozzini's 1806 Lichtleiter, Schindler's 1932 semiflexible gastroscope, Hirschowitz's 1957 fiberscope, video and capsule endoscopy, reprocessing, and AI-assisted diagnosis.

Endoskeleton

An endoskeleton is an internal support structure made of bone, cartilage, or both that gives animals shape, protects organs, and anchors muscles; all vertebrates have one.

Endosome

Endosome: membrane-bound eukaryotic organelle sorting endocytosed cargo for recycling, retrograde transport, or lysosomal degradation; early (Rab5, pH ~6) to late (Rab7, MVB) maturation, ESCRT sorting, exosome release, immunity and drug delivery roles.

Endosperm

Endosperm: the triploid (2m:1p) nutritive seed tissue of flowering plants, formed by double fertilization of the central cell; site of genomic imprinting, source of cereal grain food, and sensitive to parental genome dosage.

Endospore

Endospore (bacterial spore): dormant, extremely resistant cell formed by Bacillus, Clostridium and relatives under nutrient stress; discovered by Cohn and Koch in 1876; survives boiling, radiation, and chemicals via Ca-DPA, SASPs, and a dehydrated core.

Endosteal hyperostosis, Worth type

Endosteal hyperostosis, Worth type (Worth syndrome, LRP5 high bone mass, OMIM 144750) is a rare autosomal dominant bone dysplasia causing diffuse skeletal densification of the skull and long bones without increased fracture risk; onset in adolescence, neurological involvement in about 19%.

Endosurgery-02 trial

Endosurgery-02 (NCT07317609, ChiCTR2500095911) is a phase 1 single-arm trial at Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital testing neoadjuvant tislelizumab, carboplatin, and nab-paclitaxel followed by organ-preserving endoscopic resection in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Endosymbiont

Endosymbiont: organism living inside a host's body or cells in symbiosis. Includes Wolbachia, rhizobia, coral algae; mitochondria and chloroplasts descend from ancient endosymbionts per Margulis's 1967 theory.

Endotamponade

Endotamponade: intraocular gas (air, SF6, C2F6, C3F8) or silicone oil used in vitreoretinal surgery to seal retinal breaks until retinopexy; gases resorb in days to weeks, oil is permanent until removed.

Endothelial cell

Endothelial cell, or EC, the main cell lining blood vessels, lymph vessels, and the heart; forms the endothelium, stores von Willebrand factor in Weibel–Palade bodies, regulates vascular tone, permeability, and angiogenesis, and shows organ-specific heterogeneity.

Endothelial cell apoptotic process

Endothelial cell apoptotic process (GO:0072577), also called endothelial cell apoptosis, is the Gene Ontology term for programmed cell death of endothelial cells, executed via mitochondrial and death receptor caspase pathways and central to vascular remodeling and cardiovascular disease.

Endothelial cell-selective adhesion molecule

Endothelial cell-selective adhesion molecule (ESAM) is a transmembrane adhesion protein of the immunoglobulin superfamily, expressed in endothelial cells and platelets and important for lung vessel barrier integrity.

Endothelial colony forming cell

Endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs), also called blood outgrowth endothelial cells or late outgrowth EPCs, are rare circulating endothelial progenitors with clonal proliferative potential that form functional blood vessels in vivo, distinct from myeloid angiogenic cells, and remain preclinical.

Endothelial keratoplasty

Endothelial keratoplasty (EK) is a sutureless corneal transplant replacing only the cornea's inner layers, done as DSEK, DSAEK, or DMEK, chiefly for Fuchs endothelial dystrophy.

Endothelial protein C receptor

PROCR (protein C receptor, EPCR, CD201; HGNC:9452) is a human gene at 20q11.22 encoding the endothelial protein C receptor, which enhances activated protein C signaling; its rs867186 Ser219Gly variant raises VTE risk while lowering coronary artery disease risk.

Endothelin

Endothelin is a 21-amino-acid peptide produced by vascular endothelial cells, one of the most potent vasoconstrictors known, isolated at the University of Tsukuba in 1988.

Endothelin receptor A

Endothelin receptor A (ETₐR, EDNRA), a class A GPCR on vascular smooth muscle with high affinity for endothelin-1 and -2, mediating vasoconstriction, growth, and inflammation; target of ETₐ-selective antagonists such as ambrisentan.

Endothelin receptor B

EDNRB is a human gene on chromosome 13 encoding endothelin receptor type B, a G protein-coupled receptor linked to Hirschsprung disease and Waardenburg syndrome type 4A.

Endothelium

Endothelium: the single layer of endothelial cells lining all blood vessels and lymphatics; term coined by Wilhelm His in 1865; a dynamic organ regulating vascular tone, permeability, hemostasis, inflammation, and angiogenesis, with dysfunction central to atherosclerosis.

Endotracheal anesthesia

Endotracheal anesthesia is general anesthesia in which anesthetic gases or vapors are delivered through a tube placed in the trachea, preventing airway obstruction and aspiration during surgery.

Endovascular aneurysm repair

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), also called stent-graft repair including TEVAR and fenestrated/branched EVAR, treats aortic aneurysms via femoral access; lower perioperative mortality than open repair but higher reintervention, endoleak, and lifelong surveillance.

Endovascular coiling

Endovascular coiling is a minimally invasive procedure that fills a brain aneurysm sac with detachable platinum coils delivered through a catheter, the main alternative to surgical clipping.

Endovascular extravillous trophoblast cell

Endovascular extravillous trophoblast (enEVT, endovascular trophoblast, EndTb): a fetal trophoblast subtype that invades uterine spiral arteries, replaces endothelium, plugs vessels until ~12 weeks, and remodels them 5-10 fold; failure causes preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

Endovascular Procedures

Endovascular procedures (intravascular, endovascular techniques) are minimally invasive catheter-based procedures inside blood vessels for diagnosis and treatment: angioplasty, stenting, thrombectomy, embolization, EVAR; lower early morbidity than open surgery but more reinterventions.

Endovascular reconstruction

Endovascular reconstruction is a minimally invasive treatment in which catheter-delivered stents and flow diverters rebuild a diseased or aneurysmal blood vessel from inside, excluding the aneurysm while preserving flow.

Endovascular thrombectomy for ischemic stroke

Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), or mechanical thrombectomy, removes clots causing large vessel occlusion ischemic stroke via catheter devices (stent retriever or aspiration). Established by 2015 trials; 2026 AHA/ASA guideline extends windows and eligibility.

Endovenous ablation

Endovenous ablation, including endovenous laser ablation, is a minimally invasive procedure using laser, radiofrequency, or steam energy to permanently close incompetent veins, treating varicose veins.

Endovenous laser treatment

Endovenous laser treatment (EVLT, EVLA) is a minimally invasive, local-anesthetic day procedure sealing incompetent leg veins with intravenous laser heat, first performed in Spain in 1998 with an 810-nm diode laser; occlusion exceeds 90% and matches surgery with fewer complications.