Clot retraction is the "shrinking" of a
blood clot
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of ...
over a number of days. In doing so, the edges of the
blood vessel
The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...
wall at the point of injury are slowly brought together again to repair the damage that occurred.
Clot retraction is dependent on the release of multiple
coagulation factor
Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism o ...
s from
platelet
Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby i ...
s trapped in the
fibrin mesh of the clot. Thus, failure to retract can be a sign of
thrombocytopenia
Thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets, also known as thrombocytes, in the blood. It is the most common coagulation disorder among intensive care patients and is seen in a fifth of medical patients a ...
or a rare condition called
thrombasthenia.
Blood clot prevention can be of use before this condition develops.
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
Coagulation system
{{treatment-stub