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Information about Blood Clot

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Blood clot diagram.


A thrombus, or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of platelets that form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulation system (i.e. clotting factors). A thrombus is physiologic in cases of injury, but pathologic in case of thrombosis.

Specifically, a thrombus is a blood clot in an intact blood vessel. A thrombus in a large blood vessel will decrease blood flow through that vessel. In a small blood vessel, blood flow may be completely cut-off resulting in death of tissue supplied by that vessel. If a thrombus dislodges and becomes free-floating, it is an embolus.

Some of the conditions which elevate risk of blood clots developing include atrial fibrillation (a form of cardiac arrhythmia), heart valve replacement, a recent heart attack, extended periods of inactivity (see deep venous thrombosis), and genetic or disease-related deficiencies in the blood's clotting abilities.

Preventing blood clots reduces the risk of stroke, heart attack and pulmonary embolism. Heparin and warfarin are often used to inhibit the formation and growth of existing blood clots, thereby allowing the body to shrink and dissolve the blood clots through normal methods (see anticoagulant).

A thrombus differs from a hematoma by:
  • The thrombus is INTRAVASCULAR, the hematoma is EXTRAVASCULAR
  • Having high hematocrit
  • Being non-laminar
  • Being soft and friable
  • Having an absence of circulation
Virchow's Triad describes the conditions necessary for thrombus formation:
  1. Changes in vessel wall morphology (e.g. trauma, atheroma)
  2. Changes in blood flow through the vessel (e.g. valvulitis, aneurysm)
  3. Changes in blood composition (e.g. leukaemia, hypercoagulability disorders)


Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) involves widespread microthrombi formation throughout the majority of the blood vessels. This is due to excessive consumption of coagulation factors and fibrinolysis using all of the body's available platelets and clotting factors. The end result is ischaemic necrosis of the affected tissue/organs and spontaneous bleeding due to the lack of clotting factors. Causes are septicaemia, acute leukaemia, shock, snake bites or severe trauma. Treatment involves the use of fresh, frozen plasma to restore the level of clotting factors in the blood.

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Coagulation is a complex process by which blood forms solid clots. It is an important part of hemostasis (the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel) whereby a damaged blood vessel wall is covered by a platelet- and fibrin-containing clot to stop bleeding and begin repair of
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Hemostasis refers to a process whereby bleeding is halted in most animals with a closed circulatory system.

Hemostasis in physiology

Hemostasis can refer to the physiologic process whereby bleeding is halted.
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Platelets, or thrombocytes, are the cell fragments circulating in the blood that are involved in the cellular mechanisms of primary hemostasis leading to the formation of blood clots.
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Coagulation is a complex process by which blood forms solid clots. It is an important part of hemostasis (the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel) whereby a damaged blood vessel wall is covered by a platelet- and fibrin-containing clot to stop bleeding and begin repair of
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Physiology (from Greek: φυσις, physis, “nature, origin”; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms.
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Injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside or force, which may be physical or chemical. Injury may also refer to injured feelings or reputation rather than injuries to the body.
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Pathologist redirects here. For other uses of the terms pathology or pathological, see pathology (disambiguation).


Pathology is the study and diagnosis of disease through examination of organs, tissues, cells and bodily fluids.
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MeSH D013927 Thrombosis is the formation of a clot or thrombus inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. Thromboembolism is a general term describing both thrombosis and its main complication which is embolisation.
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should be added to this article, to conform with Wikipedia's Manual of Style.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page.

In medicine, an embolism occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli
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Atrial fibrillation
Classification & external resources

The P waves, which represent depolarization of the atria, are irregular or absent during atrial fibrillation.
ICD-10 I 48.
ICD-9 427.
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Cardiac arrhythmia
Classification & external resources

Ventricular Fibrillation or V-Fib, an example of cardiac arrhythmia.
ICD-10 I 47. - I 49.
ICD-9 427

DiseasesDB 15206
MedlinePlus 001101

MeSH D001145 Cardiac arrhythmia
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Myocardial infarction
Classification & external resources

Diagram of a myocardial infarction (2) of the tip of the anterior wall of the heart (an apical infarct
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MeSH D020246
This article is about Deep-vein thrombosis. For other uses of DVT, see DVT (disambiguation).


Deep-vein thrombosis (also known as deep-venous thrombosis or DVT and colloquially as economy class syndrome
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Pulmonary embolism
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 I 26.
ICD-9 415.1

DiseasesDB 10956
MedlinePlus 000132
eMedicine med/1958   emerg/490 radio/582

Pulmonary embolism
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Heparin, a highly sulfated glycosaminoglycan is widely used as an injectable anticoagulant and has the highest negative charge density of any known biological molecule.[1]
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Warfarin (also known under the brand names of Coumadin, Jantoven, Marevan, and Waran) is an anticoagulant medication that is administered orally or, very rarely, by injection. It is used for the prophylaxis of thrombosis and embolism in many disorders.
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An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting. A group of pharmaceuticals called anticoagulants can be used in vivo as a medication for thrombotic disorders.
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hematoma, or haematoma, is a collection of blood, generally the result of hemorrhage, or, more specifically, internal bleeding. Hematomas exist as bruises (ecchymoses), but can also develop in organs.

It is not to be confused with hemangioma.
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The hematocrit (Ht or HCT) or packed cell volume (PCV) are measures of the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. It is normally 45 ± 7 (38-52%) for males and 42 ± 5 (37-47%) for females.
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Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (born October 13, 1821, in Schivelbein (Pomerania); died September 5, 1902, in Berlin) was a German doctor, anthropologist, public health activist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician. He is referred to as the "Father of Pathology".
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Virchow's triad encompasses three broad categories of factors that are thought to contribute to venous thrombosis:
  1. Alterations in normal blood flow
  2. Injuries to the vascular endothelium
  3. Alterations in the constitution of blood (hypercoagulability)

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Atheroma
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 I 70.9
ICD-9 440

DiseasesDB 1039

MeSH C14.907.137.126.307 In pathology, an atheroma
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Aneurysm
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 I 72.
ICD-9 442

DiseasesDB 15088
MedlinePlus 001122

An aneurysm (or aneurism
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Leukemia
Classification & external resources

A Wright's stained bone marrow aspirate smear of patient with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
ICD-10 C 91. -C 95.
ICD-9 208.
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DIC can refer to:

In science
  • In biology, differential interference contrast microscopy, an illumination technique in optical microscopy
  • In chemistry, diisopropylcarbodiimide
  • In medicine, disseminated intravascular coagulation

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Fibrinolysis is the process where a fibrin clot, the product of coagulation, is broken down. Its main enzyme, plasmin, cuts the fibrin mesh at various places, leading to the production of circulating fragments that are cleared by other proteinases or by the kidney and liver.
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Platelets, or thrombocytes, are the cell fragments circulating in the blood that are involved in the cellular mechanisms of primary hemostasis leading to the formation of blood clots.
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MeSH D018805 Sepsis is a serious medical condition characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state caused by infection.

Traditionally the term sepsis has been used interchangeably with septicaemia and septicemia ("blood poisoning").
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Leukemia
Classification & external resources

A Wright's stained bone marrow aspirate smear of patient with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
ICD-10 C 91. -C 95.
ICD-9 208.
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Shock
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 many incl. R 57.
ICD-9 785

DiseasesDB 12013
MedlinePlus 000039
eMedicine emerg/531   med/285 emerg/533

MeSH D012769

For other uses, see Shock.

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