The International Symposium on Heparin, held May 13-15, 1974, in St. Louis, Missouri, as a part of the dedication of the Shoenberg Pavilion of the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, was conceived as a forum to bring together physicians and scientists with a basic in terest in the structure, function and clinical usefulness of heparin. Few naturally occurring substances have commanded the breadth of interest among members of the biomedical research community as this compound has. Aspects of its covalent and three-dimensional struc ture, its biosynthesis, its interaction with and effect on physio logically important moieties and its use as a therapeutic agent in a variety of disease states have been actively studied for the past several decades. Thus, the present state of these studies seemed to be a timely subject for discussion, not only to gather together in one place representative samples of the myriad of data on heparin but also to underscore the ever increasing necessity for communica tion between basic research and clinical practice.

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Section 1 Structural Aspects.- Molecular Properties.- The Chemistry of Heparin.- Crystalline Structure of Heparin.- Three-Dimensional Model of Heparin.- Biosynthesis.- Heparin and Heparin-Like Substances of Cells.- Biosynthesis of Heparin.- Metabolism of Macromolecular Heparin in Murine Neoplastic Mast Cells.- Demonstration of Endogenous Heparin in Rat Blood.- Biological Properties.- Relation of Chemical Structure of Heparin to Its Anticoagulant Activity.- Synthesis and Properties of Heparin Derivatives.- Low-Molecular-Weight Derivative of Heparin That Is Orally Active in Mice.- Heparin Is an Anionic Hydrated Anticoagulant.- Analytical and Pharmacological Considerations.- What Is Heparin?.- Determination of Heparin in Small Tissue Samples.- Identification and Quantification of Tissue Heparin by Microelectrophoresis: A Critique.- Standards for Heparin.- Application of the Kinetics of Heparin to the Formulation of Dosage Schedules.- Section 2 Functional Aspects.- Effect on Blood Coagulation: Interaction with Antithrombin III.- Antithrombin III: A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads.- The Coagulation-Fibrinolytic Mechanism and the Action of Heparin.- Heparin Interaction with Activated Factor X and Its Inhibitor.- Evidence of a Catalytic Role of Heparin in Anticoagulation Reactions.- Structural and Functional Relationships of Human Antithrombin III and Alphas-Antitrypsin.- Interaction with Platelets.- Heparin, Lysolecithin, and Platelet Function.- Effect of Lung and Gut Heparin on Experimental Arterial Thrombosis.- Effect on Lipoprotein Lipase.- Lipoprotein Lipase.- Lipolipin: A Glycoprotein Inhibitor of Postheparin Plasma Lipoprotein Lipase.- Other Effects.- Heparin as an Inhibitor of Mammalian Protein Synthesis.- The Effect of Heparin on Oxygen Transportfrom Blood to Tissues.- Section 3 Clinical Aspects.- Antithrombotic Efficacy.- Clinical Implications of Heparin.- Low-Dose Heparin in the Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism - Rationale and Results.- Long-Term Use of Minidose Heparin in Post-Myocardial Infarction.- Wall-Bonded Heparin - Historical Background and Current Clinical Applications.- Surface-Bonded Heparin.- Toxicity.- Heparin-Induced Osteopenia: An Appraisal.- Panel Discussion.- The Use of Heparin as an Antithrombotic Agent.- Participants.