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Hemostasis
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Hemostasis is how the body stops bleeding. It starts the moment the lining of the blood vessel, the smooth layer that covers its inner surface, is injured.
From there the process unfolds in four stages, and it sets off a chain of enzyme activations, a series in which one activation leads to the next. The result is a clot made of two things: platelets, which are cell fragments in the blood that stick to one another, and fibrin, a protein that forms a mesh of threads.
That clot seals off the break and keeps you from bleeding any further while the tissue repairs itself underneath. And it does not stay there forever: as the wound heals, the plug is gradually remodeled and dissolves once normal tissue has been restored. It is a patch that forms over the leak and comes off once the wall is repaired.
In brief
Hemostasis is the mechanism that stops bleeding from a blood vessel, and it begins with injury to the vessel's lining.
It unfolds in four stages, and it sets off a chain of enzyme activations that ends in a clot of platelets and fibrin polymer.
The clot seals the injured area and prevents further bleeding while the tissue regenerates; the plug is then remodeled and dissolves once normal tissue is restored.
It is a patch that forms over the leak and comes off once the wall is repaired.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Hemostasis, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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