Platelet plug formation in an extracorporeal unit.
Platelet plugs were formed in an extracorporeal unit from flowing venous blood and studied by electron microscopy. The unit consisted of a stainless steel needle threaded into a section of silicone rubber tubing that was constricted to form a slit-like stenosis equivalent in cross-sectional area to an arteriole 100 mu in diameter. Blood was allowed to flow at a steady pressure from an antecubital vein through a collection line and the attached unit until bleeding was stopped by the formation of a platelet plug at the stenosis. Electron microscopy of the plugs showed closely packed aggregated platelets. No fibrin was detected. The formation of a stable plug in the absence of fibrin was considered a measure of the capacity of platelets in hemostasis and thrombosis to aggregate and resist the force of the blood current.
D001780:Blood Coagulation Tests; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005112:Extracorporeal Circulation; D005260:Female; D005337:Fibrin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010973:Platelet Adhesiveness; D010974:Platelet Aggregation
D005337:Fibrin