The role of oxygen free radicals in some physiological and pathological processes

Oxygen free radicals play an important role in many processes: they are involved in various phases of the inflammatory process and therefore take part in the defence of the organism. Yet their effects may be harmful or even fatal. The paper deals with the part of oxygen free radicals in postischemic reperfusion tissue damage and in the development of atherosclerotic vascular plaques. The paper closes with some facts and hypotheses about the damage to the genetic material and the significance of oxidative changes in aging. The abbreviations are explained at the end.