Question

Write a note on coagulation of blood.

Answer 1

Blood Coagulation is the process of forming a clot or thrombus in order to prevent excess loss of blood from the body. It is a gel-like mass which is formed by the platelets and fibrin in the blood. A blood clot consists of a plug of platelets enmeshed in a network of water insoluble fibrin molecules. Platelet aggregation and fibrin formation both require the proteolytic enzyme thrombin.

Clotting also requires:

• calcium ions (Ca2+)
  
• about a dozen other protein clotting factors. Most of these circulate in the blood as inactive precursors. They are activated by proteolytic cleavage becoming, in turn, active proteases for other factors in the system.