Template:Aquatic layer topics. An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3000 and 6000 m. Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth âs surface.
Murad discovered in 1977 that nitroglycerin and related artery-widening compounds act by releasing nitric oxide. Furchgott later concluded that cells in the inner lining of blood vessels secrete some unknown substance that makes vessels dilate.
Nitric oxide also acts on cardiac muscle to decrease contractility and heart rate. NO contributes to the regulation of cardiac contractility. Emerging evidence suggests that coronary artery disease (CAD) is related to defects in generation or action of NO.