Bleeding and blood clotting, escape of blood from blood vessels into surrounding tissue and the process of coagulation through the action of platelets.
Significance of hemostasis
The evolution of high-pressure blood circulation in vertebrates has brought with it the risk of bleeding after injury to tissues. Mechanisms to prevent bleeding (i.e., hemostatic mechanisms) are essential to maintain the closed blood-circulatory system. Normal hemostasis is the responsibility of a complex system of three individual components: blood cells (platelets), cells that line the blood vessels (endothelial cells), and blood proteins (blood-clotting proteins). The blood platelet is a nonnucleated cell that circulates in the blood in ... (100 of 3,681 words)