Theformationofaclotinabloodvesselsmaybecalledthrombophlebitis

Abloodclotthatblocksanarterytothebraincancauseastroke

Athrombus, or colloquially ablood clot, is the final product of thebloodoagulation

stepinhemostasis

Blood coagulation or Hemostasis is the cessation of bleeding from a cut or several

vessels.

Blood Clotting Factors

Factor I: Fibrinogen
Fibrinogenisglobulininnaturebuthasmuchbiggermoleculethanserumglobulin.The
molecularweightisabout3,30,000.Itiscoagulatedataround56 0C.Itisdistinguished
fromotherplasmaproteinsbyitspropertyofclotting.

Factor II: Prothrombin

Prothrombinisaproteinfoundinnatureandpresentinnormalplasma.Ithasmolecule
weightofabout62,700.Itisverylabileinaqueoussolutionandisinactivatedbyacids
atpH4.8. In oxalated plasma two form of prothrombin are found A and B. In
normalplasmathetwoformsremainunitedascalciumcompound.

Factor III: Thromboplastin

Thromboplastin is derived from two sources. First source is Intrinsic Thromboplastin
which is formed in the plasma due to interaction between different Plasma factors.
SecondsourceisExtrinsicThromboplastinwhichisformedfromdifferenttissue(extract
ofbrain,lungsetc)isalsocalledTissueThromboplastin.

Factor IV: Calcium

Ioniccalciumgreatlyhelpsinbloodclottingbyactingasaco-factorinthecoagulation
process.Itisessentialfortheformationofbothintrinsicandextrinsicthromboplastinand
inconversionofprothrombinintothrombin.

Factor V: Labile factor or Accelerator globulin

Labilefactorisnecessaryforthecompleteconversionofprothrombinintothrombinby
theextrinsicorintrinsicthromboplastin.Itisaprotein,heatlabileandisinactivated
withinhalfanhourat560CorbyincreasingpHto10.5.Itispresentinplasmabutisused
upduringclotting.

Factor VI: Accelerin

Accelerinisthehypotheticalactivationproductofproaccelerini.e.factorV.

Factor VII: Stable factor or Proconvertin

Proconvertinispresentinplasmaandisnotusedupduringclotting.Itisproteinremains
associated with prothrombin. It accelerates tissue thromboplastin or extrinsic factor.
DuringbloodclottingProconvertinconvertedintoConvertin.

Factor IX: Christmas factor

Christmas factor is necessary for intrinsic factor or intrinsic thromboplastin formation.
Haemophilia C was first found in a patient named Christmas and hence named
Christmas factor

Factor X: Stuart factor

In1959theinternationalnomenclaturehasbeengiventothisfactor.Itisstableatroom
temperature.

Factor XI: Plasma Thromboplastin antecedent (PTA)

ThisfactorisactivatedbyactiveHagemanfactorandultimatelyleadstoformationof
thrombin.

Factor XII: Hagemen or surface factor

Hagemenorsurfacefactorisproteininnature.Inactiveformisactivatedonsurface
contact.Thisisturnactivatestheproteinsplittingenzymekallikreintoproduceplasma
Kinins.Theresultingeffectsareincreasedvascularpermeabilityanddilatationofblood
vessels.

Factor XIII: Fibrin Stabilizing or Laki Lorand factor

ThisformisactivealongwithCa2+ionconvertsoftfibrinclottoasolid,fibrousone.Its
actionalsodecreasesthesolubilityoftheclotinureasolution.

Factors preventing Coagulation

Therearefollowingfactorswhichpreventcoagulation.

Byloweringtemperature,Coagulationcanbeprevented.

Byavoidingcontactwithwaterweltablesurfaceandinjuredtissues.ThispreventsThrombokinaseaction.

Removalofcalciumion.

Precipitationoffibrinogen.

Byaddingthesubstancesofbiologicalorigin.Theseare

Protaminessimpleproteinfoundinfish.

PeptoneWhenitisinjectedinvein

HeparinMucoitinPolysulphuricacidproducedbymastcells.

HirudinLeechextractandvenomofcertainsnakes.
Heparin,Hirudinandvenomofcertainsnakespreventbloodclottingbyinhibitingactionofprothrombin
andthrombinfibrinogenreaction.

Factors hastening Coagulation Process

Coagulationprocesscanpaceupwithfollowingfactors:

Warmth.

Contactwithwaterwettablesurfaceandroughsurfaces.

Additionsofforeignbodiesintoasampleofblood.

Additionofthrombin.

Additionofthromboplastin.

The most immediate biochemical change that occurred post-mortem is a fall in the
concentrationofoxygenduetoabsenceofcirculation,resultinginaswitchtoanaerobic
metabolismwiththeabsenceofthecitricacidcycle.Anaerobicglycolysisresultedinthe
accumulationoflacticacidandanincreaseintheconcentrationofNADH.Formicacid
also increased post-mortem but because the production of this metabolite requires
enzymesthatfunctionatphysiologicalpHaswellasNAD +asaco-factor,theincreasein
formic acid is most probably attributed to bacterial putrefaction rather than anaerobic
metabolism. It is unclear why the pigs and the rats had such large differences in the
concentrationofformicacidpost-mortem.Itmaybebecausetheypossiblyhavedifferent
bacterialmicroflora.Theaccumulationoflacticacidandformicacidinitiatesthefallin
pHpost-mortem.Furthermore,becausethecirculatorysystemisstasis,thebloodbuffer

systemsfailresultinginarapidpHdeclineasmoreacidicmetabolitesareproduced.The
speedoftheplasmapHdecreasewasillustratedinFigure1Awherepost-mortemblood
pHfellfrom7.45to6.0withinthefirst24hoursafterdeath.TheplasmapHdecreaseis
significant because it is thought to activate fibrinolysin enzymes which prevent blood
clotting resulting in an increase in fluidity (non-coagulation) of the blood [28-31].
Although fibrinolysis was not examined in this study, the post-mortem blood remained
fluidinsidetheratandpigcorpsesoverthe96hourexaminationperiod,consistentwith
fibrinolysinenzymesbeingactive.

Thetimeintervalmaybeshortorextendeddependinguponthedegreeofclotting,source
andquantityofblood,andenvironmentalconditionsexistingatthetime.

Anaveragetimeof3to15minutesforbloodtocommenceclottingoutsidethebodymay
beusedasaguidelineforaminimalinterval

Redbloodcellsaredeliveringoxygentotissues,buttheycannotdothisanymoreinthe
lackofbloodflow.

White blood cells degenerate and after about 84 hours are no longer existing as cells (
BabapulleCJ,JayasunderaNP,1993). Neutrophiles degenerate first and lymphocytes
last.

Platelets follow an apparent increase in number due to hypostatic phenomena (

ThomsenHetal,1999). Then thrombolytic activity is increased and platelet-platelet
aggregatesform.Somealsoadheretofibrinogenanderythrocytes.

Overall, due to increase of acidic metabolites concentration, the pH of the blood

decreases.Ittakesabout20hourstoreachabloodpHof5.5