Vocabulary

Uremic toxins: Small molecules or metabolites that are normally excreted into the urine by the kidney but due to kidney disease their concentration increase in the blood and cause cardiovscular disease (to read more: Uraemic solutes as therapeutic targets in CKD-associated cardiovascular disease)

Endothelial dysfunction: Endothelial cells line the inside of the blood vessels in the body and are thus the first contact of the uremic toxins. Endothelial dysfunction refers to a broad range of pathologcail changes that happen in the endothelial cells and are direclty coupled to various diseases such as hypertension, artherosclerosis and peripheral artery disease  (to read more, check: Endothelial Dysfunction and Cardiovascular Disease: History and Analysis of the Clinical Utility of the Relationship)