Sprouting angiogenesis in vascular and lymphatic development

Blood vessels form tubular networks that ramify throughout the organism and are essential for transport of metabolites into and out of tissues. The mature blood vasculature consists of a hierarchical circuit of interconnected vessels of various sizes, including arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins, which are connected to the heart and allow closed blood circulation between the heart and all other body tissues. The lymphatic vasculature is a parallel, open network that absorbs extracellular fluids, immune cells, and intestinal lipids and returns them to the venous circulation. In this chapter, we will describe cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling development of the vascular and lymphatic systems.