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A thrombus (pl. thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cross-linked fibrin protein.
Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It results in hemostasis , the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair.
A pulmonary embolism (PE) occurs when a blood clot from a deep vein (a DVT) detaches from a vein , travels through the right side of the heart, and becomes lodged as an embolus in a pulmonary artery that supplies deoxygenated blood to the lungs for oxygenation. [28] Up to one-fourth of PE cases are thought to result in sudden death. [12]
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a condition in which blood clots form throughout the body, blocking small blood vessels. [1] Symptoms may include chest pain, shortness of breath, leg pain, problems speaking, or problems moving parts of the body. [1] As clotting factors and platelets are used up, bleeding may occur. [1]
Physicians specialized in hematology are known as hematologists or haematologists. [2] Their routine work mainly includes the care and treatment of patients with hematological diseases, although some may also work at the hematology laboratory viewing blood films and bone marrow slides under the microscope, interpreting various hematological test results and blood clotting test results.
The normal clotting process depends on the interplay of various proteins in the blood. Coagulopathy may be caused by reduced levels or absence of blood-clotting proteins, known as clotting factors or coagulation factors. Genetic disorders, such as hemophilia and Von Willebrand disease, can cause a reduction in clotting factors. [2]
The clotting factors are made either from human blood or by recombinant methods. [16] Up to 20% of people develop antibodies to the clotting factors which makes treatment more difficult. [ 3 ] The medication desmopressin may be used in those with mild haemophilia A. [ 16 ] Studies of gene therapy are in early human trials.
Blood clotting, or coagulation, is a vital process that prevents excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. Two primary pathways, the intrinsic and extrinsic, initiate this process. The intrinsic pathway is triggered by internal damage to the blood vessel wall, whereas the extrinsic pathway is triggered by tissue cell trauma.