Thrombus

A thrombus, or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulationstep in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of plateletsthat form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulationsystem (i.e. clotting factors). A thrombus is physiologicin cases of injury, but pathologicin 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 the death of tissue supplied by that vessel. If a thrombus dislodges and becomes free-floating, it is an embolus.

Some of the conditions in which blood clots develop 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. Heparinand warfarinare 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).

See also

• thrombolysis("clot busting")

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrombus Wikipedia article Thrombus.