Effect of red blood cells on platelet aggregation.
The blood cell that plays a central role in the normal clotting process is the platelet. Blood platelets were first discovered by Donne in 1842 [1], but 40 years later, Bizzozero [2] recognized the importance of platelet clumping in the blood clotting process. It is now well established that platelet aggregation is not only important for primary hemostasis but when exaggerated can also lead to the formation of occlusive thrombi [3], which form at sites of atherosclerotic plaque rupture, resulting in a heart attack, stroke, or sudden death.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. piv@mit.edu
Igor
I
Pivkin
Peter
P
Richardson
George
G
Karniadakis
D000465:Algorithms; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000502:physiology*; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000378:metabolism