Definition. All sexually reproducing organisms make sex cells called gametes. The gamete produced by the female is called the egg or ovum (plural = ova). It joins with the sperm, the male gamete, during fertilization to form the embryo, which will eventually grow into a new organism. Ova are produced by sexually reproducing animals, protists, fungi and flowering plants and ferns. In animals, they are produced by follicle cells in the ovaries of the female.
What is Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD)? Fibromuscular Dysplasia, commonly called FMD, is a disease that causes one or more arteries in the body to have abnormal cell development in the artery wall. As a result, areas of narrowing (called stenosis), aneurysms, or tears (called dissections) may occur.
Endothelial dysfunction is now considered an important early event in the development of atherosclerosis, which precedes gross morphological signs and clinical symptoms. The assessment of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was introduced almost 20 years ago as a noninvasive approach to examine vasodilator function in vivo.FMD is widely believed to reflect endothelium-dependent and largely nitric oxide-mediated arterial function and has been used as a surrogate marker of vascular health.chematic representation of steps involved in flow-mediated dilation (FMD) generation from the initiation of the shear-stress stimulus (step 1) to the resultant vessel diameter change (step 6). Blood flow-associated shear stress is sensed by deformation of mechanosensitive structures at the cell membrane.