In 1980, Furchgott and his colleagues presented the first evidence that Acetylcholine (ACh), by acting on endothelial cells, stimulated the release of a relaxing factor (EDRF) that acted on the preconstricted rabbit thoracic aorta to produce relaxation.

• 自1980年Furchgott发现乙酰胆碱(Acetylcholine,ACh)可通过内皮释放一种舒张因子(EDRF)，使预先收缩的免主动脉环松弛以来，人们对内皮源性血管张力调节机制进行了广泛的研究，现已证实，EDRF便是一氧化氮(NO)。