Haemostasis (Session 5) Flashcards
What is haemostasis?
The stopping of haemmorage
How quickly does haemostasis act? To do what
Within seconds to prevent blood loss
What 3 processes does haemostasis involve and what are the 3 main players in haemostasis
1) Platelets -> - Platelet plug formation
2) The process of Blood clotting/coaulation cascade:
– Coagulation factors
– Anticoagulant factors
3) The vascular wall (endothelium) ->Vasoconstriction
Give 3 examples of how haemostasis can be helped along therapeutically
What do these interventions do?
- Pressure to a bleeding point
- Suturing of an injury
- Application of a topical agent that aids clotting.
These interventions slow down blood loss and allow the clotting process to take effect.
What is clotting?
The process whereby blood (a liquid in normal blood vessels) becomes a solid mass when it makes contact with connective tissue
When can problems arise with clotting?
When clotting occurs inappropriately
What is clotting controlled by?
an intricate system involving activation and inhibition of clotting factors
What is the end result of the activation of the clotting system?
- the production of the enzyme thrombin which acts on the circulating plasma protein fibrinogen (soluble)
- to produce fibrin filaments (insoluble)
- which are then deposited and trap red blood cells.
What system destroys clots?
What is this system parallel to?
- Fibrinolysis destroys clots
- Parallel to the clotting system
When will blood clot?
- As soon as it’s spilled from a vessel
Name cells that can be in contact with blood and not clot (4) - ASK ABOUT THIS
- Endothelial cells
- White blood cells
- Unactivated platelets
- Red blood cells
What state does blood need to be maintained in?
What does blood need to be able to do at the site of any vascular injury?
- a fluid clot-free state
- Needs to be able to produce a rapid and localised solid plug at the site of any vascular injury.
How many steps are involved in haemostsasis?
3
Describe step 1 of haemostasis
- The cut artery contracts, not enough to stop the bleeding but enough to decrease the
pressure downstream
(contraction doesn’t occur in veins but the pressure in them is much lower).
Describe step 2 in haemostasis
- A primary haemostatic plug of activated platelets forms at the hole in the vessel
sticking to the injured vessel and the connective tissue outside it. - This is fragile but may control the bleeding.
- It forms in seconds to minutes.
Describe step 3 in haemostsasis
- The secondary haemostatic plug forms as fibrin filaments stabilise the friable platelet plug into
a blood clot. - This forms in approximately 30 minutes.
Describe the 3 steps of haemostasis
- The severed artery contracts, not enough to stop the bleeding but enough to decrease the
pressure downstream (contraction doesn’t occur in veins but the pressure in them is much
lower). - A primary haemostatic plug of activated platelets forms at the hole in the vessel sticking to
the injured vessel and the connective tissue outside it. This is fragile but may control the
bleeding. It forms in seconds to minutes. - The secondary haemostatic plug forms as fibrin filaments stabilise the friable platelet plug into
a blood clot. This forms in approximately 30 minutes.
Name 4 things that activate platelets
- Collagen surfaces (within extravascular areas)
- ADP
- Thromboxane A2
- Thrombin
1) What is ADP released by in the clotting cascade?
2) What does it do?
Released by activated platelets and injured red blood cells
2) Amplifies the platelet response
1) What is thromboxane A2?
2) What is it released by?
- Thromboxane A2 (a powerful platelet aggregator which is also released by activated platelets)
What does thrombin do?
- Informs platelets that the clotting sequence is activated
Describe the first thing that happens when platelets are activated
- Stick to the exposed subendothelium (basement membrane or collagen) specifically to von
Willebrand factor which is concentrated on the subendothelial basement membrane.
Describe the second thing that happens when platelets are activated
- Aggregate with other platelets. This is how the platelet plug, and then the secondary
haemostatic plug, grows. Fibrinogen binds to the platelets and sticks them together.
Describe the third thing that happens when platelets are activated
- Swell and change shape into sticky, spiny spheres.
Describe the second fourth that happens when platelets are activated
- Secrete factors from platelet granules that help the platelet plug to grow and aid clotting, e.g.,
some fibrinogen, ADP, thromboxane A2.
Describe the 4 things that happen when platelets are activated
- Stick to the exposed subendothelium (basement membrane or collagen) specifically to von
Willebrand factor which is concentrated on the subendothelial basement membrane. - Aggregate with other platelets. This is how the platelet plug, and then the secondary
haemostatic plug, grows. Fibrinogen binds to the platelets and sticks them together. - Swell and change shape into sticky, spiny spheres.
- Secrete factors from platelet granules that help the platelet plug to grow and aid clotting, e.g.,
some fibrinogen, ADP, thromboxane A2.
What drug can decrease platelet aggregation?
Aspirin
Describe how aspirin can decrease platelet aggregation
Aspirin irreversibly inactivates cyclooxygenase, one of the enzymes responsible for the production of thromboxane A2. In this way it decreases platelet aggregation.
In order for blood to clot, what needs to be produced?
What does the production of this mark?
- Fibrin needs to be produced
- This is the endpoint of the clotting cascade
Which enzyme cleaves fibrinogen to fibrin?
Thrombin
Does thrombin circulate in an active state?
Why or why not?
So what needs to happen to thrombin?
- It doesn’t because otherwise, blood will be solid
- It needs activated by a group of circulating molecules (clotting factors)
1) What are the clotting factors numbered from?
2) Which clotting factors are no longer used?
3) What do some clotting factors require for their synthesis ?
1) 1 to 13 (I to XIII)
2) 3 and 6 (III and VI
3) Vitamin K
Which clotting factors and anticoagulants require vitamin K for synthesis? (6)
- The clotting factors: II, VII, IX, X (2, 7, 9, 10)
- The anticoagulants protein C and protein S
What class do most clotting factors fall into?
Proenzymes
What do pro enzymes do?
each proenzyme activates the next in line and amplifies the effect.
What does effective clotting require?
Give 2 examples
- The presence of co-factors for the enzymes
E.g phospholipids and calcium
What do many of the interactions involved in clotting require?
What provides this?
- Many of the interactions involved in clotting require assembly of the components on a surface.
- This surface is provided by the platelet membranes when they swell and change shape during activation
How many pathways are involved in clotting?
Name them
- 2
- Intrinsic and extrinsic
- They act together
Why is the intrinsic pathway called the intrinsic pathway?
because it involves factors, all of which are contained within the blood.
1) What triggers the intrinsic pathway?
2) Give 2 examples
3) For it to occur, what doesn’t need to happen
1) A negatively charged surface
2) subendothelium or glass
3) no vessel needs to be broken open for it to occu
Why is the extrinsic pathway called the extrinsic pathway?
because it needs a ‘tissue factor’ (thromboplastin, formerly called clotting factor III) which is present outside of the blood.
What triggers the extrinsic pathway?
thromboplastin released from damaged cells adjacent to the area of haemorrhage.