Coagulation Flashcards
Hemostasis
process which spontaneously arrests the flow of blood from the vessels carrying blood under pressure. Causes bleeding to stop
Thrombosis
A pathologic process in which one or more components of the normal hemostatic mechanism is activated wrong place, wrong time
hemostatic thrombus
the “plug” that seals off an injured artery or vein. most often referred to as a thrombus
what forms the hemostatic plug?
fibrin deposition and platelet plug
what limits and removes the hemostatic plug?
anti-coagulant and fibrin lysis
pathology
the precise study and diagnosis of disease
virchow’s triad in thrombosis
endothelial injury, hyper coagulability, abnormal blood flow. Endothelial integrity is the most important factor.
what causes thrombosis?
too much clotting/platelet plug formation or too little anticoagulant/fibrinolytic activity
direction of thrombus movement (typically)?
towards the heart. Anterograde in veins and retrograde in arteries
mural thrombi
clots occurring in the cardiac chambers and aorta
vegetations
thrombi on the heart valves
lines of zahn
laminated appearance of thrombi due to the flow of blood over the clot (like rock sedimentation)
white layers in Lines of Zahn
platelets & fibrin (pink under microscope)
red layers in Lines of Zahn
RBCs
arterial thrombi
most common in coronary, cerebral, and femoral arteries. commonly caused by endothelial injury (ruptured atherosclerotic plaque, vasculitis, trauma), white thrombus
venous thrombi
most common in lower extremities (90%), upper extremities, pelvic plexi, portal/hepatic veins. caused by stasis, RBC trapping=red thrombus
two main features of thrombi
lines of zahn, attachment to endothelial wall
4 fates of thrombi
propagation, embolization, dissolution, recanalization
thrombus propagation
continued growth
thrombus embolization
portion of/entire thrombus dislodges and travels via flow of blood to another site
thrombus dissolution
fibrinolysis can result in breakdown
thrombus recanalization
become organized via ingrowth of endothelial cells, smoot muscle cells and fibroblasts. new channels form and reestablish blood flow. occurs in older thrombi.
saddle embolus
sits between bifurcation of two vessels.
venous thrombi complications
pulmonary embolus. thromboemboli are able to pass through large caliber vessels until they reach the smaller arteriolar and capillary bed of the lungs. (arterial thrombi are more likely to affect end organs)
difference between thrombi and postmortem clots?
in post mortem clots, the blood separates out into components (current jelly & chicken fat). no adhesion to wall. might fill vessels but don’t over distend them. no lines of zahn.
definition of coagulation
forming and getting rid of fibrin clots
what comes in contact with blood when an artery is punctured?
collagen and tissue factor
clotting cascade
a complex mechanism for producing a limited amount of thrombin quickly at a site of vascular injury
actions of thrombin
cleaves fibrinogen, activates platelets, activates 5a/8a/11a (positive feedback of itself), activates protein C (negative regulation of itself)
fibrinogen
precursor of fibrin. activated to fibrin via thrombin protease
fibrin
forms the mesh plug in clots
goal of clotting cascade
convert prothrombin (2) to thrombin (2a)
which of the clotting cascade factors are not proteases?
V, VIII (5,8)