Structure of conventional phospholipids and plasmalogens.

<p>Conventional phospholipids such as phosphatidyl-ethanolamine contain ester bonds to link R1 and R2 acyl-moieties at the <i>sn-</i>1 and <i>sn-</i>2 positions of glycerol, respectively. Ethanolamine-plasmalogens (also termed plasmenyl-ethanolamine) are characterized by the presence of a vinyl-ether bond at the <i>sn-</i>1 position of the glycerol backbone to link alkenyl-moieties and an ester bond at the <i>sn-</i>2 position to link acyl-residues.