Radially oriented fibrin crystallisation. A new test for endotoxin sensitivity in man.
Radially oriented acicular crystalline aggregates could be induced by incubating heparinised blood with bacterial endotoxins. These aggregates did not appear in the blood of 37 healthy volunteers but were observed in the blood of 130 patients, predominantly those with vasculitis, psoriasis, and bacterial infections. Study of these asteroid structures, which resemble 'sunbursts', led to the view that they are oriented crystals of fibrin radiating from a central platelet mass undergoing lysis.
D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000097:blood; D001792:Blood Platelets; D003460:Crystallization; D003872:Dermatitis / Q000097:blood; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000097:blood*; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae; D005337:Fibrin; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000097:blood*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000097:blood; D013291:Streptococcus; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000097:blood
D004731:Endotoxins; D005337:Fibrin