title: A brief history of lipid and lipoprotein measurements and their contribution to clinical chemistry.
abstract: The study of modern lipid chemistry began in the 17th and 18th centuries with early observations by Robert Boyle, Poulletier de la Salle, Antoine François de Fourcroy and others. The 19th century chemist, Chevreul, identified several fatty acids, suggested the name 'cholesterine' for the fatty substance in gallstones, coined the word 'glycerine', and showed that fats were comprised of glycerol and fatty acids. The 20th century brought many advances in the understanding of lipoprotein structure and function, and explored relationships between lipoproteins and disease states. The development of the ultracentrifuge and other lipoprotein separation techniques, and reagents for accurate, standardized quantitative measurement have steadily increased our understanding of the important role of lipoprotein metabolism in both healthy and disease states.
authors.affiliation: Lipid Research Laboratory, New England Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA. judith.mcnamara@tufts.edu
authors.forename: Judith R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.forename: G Russell
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Warnick
authors.forename: Gerald R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D002624:Chemistry, Clinical / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis / Q000266:history*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000266:history* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D008074:Lipoproteins