What is Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura?
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (I.T.P.) is a bleeding condition in which the blood doesn’t clot as it should. This is due to a low number of blood cells called platelets (PLATE-lets). Platelets are also called thrombocytes (THROM-bo-sites), and they’re made in your bone marrow (along with other kinds of blood cells). Platelets circulate through the blood vessels and help stop bleeding by sticking together (clotting) to seal small cuts or breaks.* Idiopathic (id-ee-o-PATH-ick) means that the cause of the disease or condition isn’t known in western medicine. Thrombocytopenic (throm-bo-cy-toe-PEE-nick) means there is a lower-than-normal number of platelets in the blood. Purpura (PURR-purr-ah) are purple bruises caused by bleeding under the skin.
