Abstract
Nitric oxide (NO) plays a critical role in many physiological and pathological functions in the human body. Following the discovery in 1986-1987 that endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) is NO, the number of NO-based publications within all fields of medicine has increased exponentially. This report provides a brief historical view of NO-based research, emphasizing the events in the last two decades of the 20th century.