Six hundred and sixty specimens of thoracic, abdominal aortas, cerebral, carotid, vertebral, pulmonary, coronary, kidney and mesenteric arteries from 110 fresh cadavers were examined for their plasminogen activator content by means of the histochemical method of Todd. The plasminogen activator in pulmonary arteries, kidney and splenic arteries obtained during surgery was estimated. Differences between the fibrinolytic activities, generally found in the adventitia, are given.Intact arterial

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... helium, in contrast to the venous endothelium, is only slightly or not at all active. Endothelium of thoracic aortas detached by scraping and repeatedly washed was tested on fibrin plates with streptokinase. Under these conditions arterial endothelium showed fibrinolytic activity suggesting that endothelium contains proactivator. The fibrinolytic activity of arteries adventitia with atheromatous plaques examined by the histochemical method was higher than in normal arteries.