How Does Blood Clot?
It’s not really a simple answer. Let’s take the two main things which happen – a platelet plug forms, plugging up the hole which has been formed as much as possible; and the clotting cascade forms a clot which prevents any further blood loss. Platelet Plug So something sharp pierces the skin. Platelets will be attracted to the exposed collagen and will start to form a plug by connections of their glycoprotein receptors. A substance called von Willebrand’s Factor (vWF) bridges the gap between the platelets and the collagen, but receptors also link the platelets straight to it. Platelets are stuck together with fibrinogen linking their glycoprotein receptors. Importantly, platelets are also activated by the exposed collagen. Along with neutrophils and monocytes (some white blood cells), they release chemicals to try and help the situation – ADP, which helps with the platelets collecting together to form a plug; PAF or Platelet activating factor which activates platelets to release more c
