Regulation of the coronary vasomotor tone: What we know and where we need to go

The control of coronary blood flow has been studied for decades, but despit e our extensive efforts, the critical regulators of flow are largely unknow n. One purpose of this review is to summarize some recent concepts about th e control of coronary flow and also point out areas where additional knowle dge must be acquired. A second purpose of this review is to highlight the n eed for additional noninvasive measurements of flow that undoubtedly will r equire further evolution of contemporary technologies, and also application of specific methods toward noninvasive measurements of coronary blood flow . Only after the development of such measurements will the scientific commu nity begin to understand the intricacies of the regulation of coronary flow in human beings.