THE COAGULATION SYSTEM Flashcards
what is haemostasis?
the process of forming a clot to stop the bleeding whilst still maintaining blood flow in the rest of the vessel
what is thrombosis? how can this cause an embolism?
a formation of a blood clot that prevents blood flow, causing hypoxia and tissue damage.
if the clot dislodges then it can form an embolism
Outline the 3 stages of haemostasis
- vascular spasm
- platelet plug formation/primary haemostasis
- coagulation/secondary haemostasis
what happens during vasuclar spasm?
damaged blood vessels constrict, reducing blood flow in the damaged area and reducing the amount of blood lost.
where do platelets come from?
how long is their life span?
how are they destroyed?
small fragments of megakaryocyte cytoplasm
5-9 days
Kupffer cells in the liver or phagocytosis in the spleen
Why don’t platelets have a nucleus? what is the implication of this?
as they are just chunks of cytoplasm.
they can’t produce anything new so they must contain all the factors required for their function.
describe platelet ultrastructure?
they have surface-connected canalicular systems. microtubules, alpha granules, dense granules, glycogen fragments and mitochondria
what is the function of microtubules in platelets?
they allow them to change shape and release granules
what are alpha granules?
these are dense granules that contain lots of proteins
what are dense granules? do we have more or less in platelets compared to alpha granules?
we have 2-7 in each platelet, way less than alpha granules
they contain vasoconstrictive agents, platelet agonists, calcium and magnesium
what are calcium and magnesium critical for?
integrin function
what do dense granules look like under a microscope?
a dense core surrounded by a halo
what receptors do platelets have on their membranes?
agonist and glycoprotein receptors
what happens because of damage to the endothelial layer of blood walls?
the sub endothelial layer is exposed, exposing collagen fibres and von Willebran factors
how do platelets adhere to the sub endothelial layer of blood vessel walls?
platelets adhere to exposed collagen fibres with help of vWF due to shear stress. Blood flow then rolls the platelets along the sub-endothelium, promoting more glycoprotein and vWF associations. this creates firmer adhesion
what is shear stress?
platelets are smaller than other blood cells so tend to travel along the edges of blood vessel walls and therefore travel at a higher pressure.
what happens once a platelet has adhered to the sub-endothelium?
this initiates platelet activation and aggregation resulting in granule release, conformational changes, stronger adhesion
describe platelet aggregation?
a platelet monolayer forms on the exposed subendothelial layer. the activated platelets monolayer releases platelet agonists and adhesive proteins which recruits further platelets. the newly recruited platelets are attracted and change shape to allow for greater platelet-platelet interactions= temporary plug
why don’t platelets bind to healthy cells?
as these secrete substances to prevent adhesion. e.g. nitric oxide and prostaglandin
outline secondary haemostasis
a coagulation cascade can be initiated by either trauma (extrinsic) or internal damage to the vessel wall (intrinsic)
what is the result of the coagulation cascade?
a gelatinous, but robust clot made up on a mesh of fibrin in which platelets and blood cells are trapped
describe the intrinsic coagulation pathway?
damage of the vessel wall activates factor 12 which then goes on to activate factor 9. factor 9 then forms a complex with factor 8 and this goes on to activate factor 10
describe the extrinsic coagulation pathway
after trauma to extravascular cells, factor 3 is released which activate factor 7. the factor 3 and 7 complex then goes on to activate factor 10
why is it important that the extrinsic pathway is simpler?
so we can initiate the coagulation cascade sooner after trauma
describe the common coagulation cascade pathway
factor 10 then activates prothrombin to produce thrombin. thrombin then acts as an enzyme (along with Ca2+) to convert fribrinogen to fibrin. fibrin and factor 13 form a cross-linked mesh work that captures blood cells
What is Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor?
an anticoagulant expressed and released by all endothelial cells. this prevents activation of factor 10 and the active of factor 7 complex
what is Anti-Thrombin?
this binds directly to thrombin, factor 9, factor 10 and factor 11.
describe the process and results expected of platelet aggregometry
shine light through platelet rich plasma. inactive platelets will make the plasma cloudy whereas active platelets that clump together will form clots and allow more light through. It forms an S shaped curve. the small notch is where platelets change shape and get a little more cloudy just before they aggregate