Platelets

Platelets, also called "thrombocytes", are blood cells whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to stop bleeding. Platelets have no nucleus: they are fragments of cytoplasm which are derived from the megakaryocytes of the bone marrow, and then enter the circulation. These unactuated platelets are biconvex discoid structures shaped like a lens, 2–3 µm in greatest diameter. Platelets are found only in mammals, an adaptation that may have evolved to offset the risk of death from hemorrhage at childbirth – a risk unique to mammals. On a stained blood smear, platelets appear as dark purple spots, about 20% the diameter of red blood cells. The smear is used to examine platelets for size, shape, qualitative number, and clumping. The ratio of platelets to red blood cells in a healthy adult is 1:10 to 1:20. The main function of platelets is to contribute to hemostasis: the process of stopping bleeding at the site of interrupted endothelium. They gather at the site and unless the interruption is physically too large, they plug the hole. First, platelets attach to substances outside the interrupted endothelium: adhesion. Second, they change shape, turn on receptors and secrete chemical messengers: activation. Third, they connect to each other through receptor bridges: aggregation. Formation of this platelet plug (primary hemostasis) is associated with activation of the coagulation cascade with resultant fibrin deposition and linking (secondary hemostasis). These processes may overlap: the spectrum is from a predominantly platelet plug, or "white clot" to a predominantly fibrin clot, or "red clot" or the more typical mixture. The final result is the clot. Some would add the subsequent clot retraction and platelet inhibition as fourth and fifth steps to the completion of the process and still others a sixth step wound repair. Low platelet concentration is thrombocytopenia and is due to either decreased production or increased destruction. Elevated platelet concentration is thrombocytosis and is either congenital, reactive (to cytokines), or due to unregulated production: one of the myeloprolerative neoplasms or certain other myeloid neoplasms. A disorder of platelet function is a thrombocytopathy.

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related conferences:
Cell biology of megakaryocytes & platelets
15th biennial midwest platelet conference
5th international eurasian congress of hematology 2014
Medical oncology and hematology 2014: multidisciplinary approaches that improve coordination of care
Combined annual scientific meeting haematology society of australia and new zealand, the australian & new zealand society of blood transfusion and the australasian society of thrombosis and haemostasis 2014
World congress on controversies in thrombosis and hemostasis 2014
Japanese society of hematology 76th annual meeting 2014
Spanish society for thrombosis and haemostasis national congress 2014
Indian society of haematology & blood transfusion and indian society of transfusion medicine conference 2014
Hellenic society of hematology 25th national congress 2014
American society of hematology 56th annual meeting 2014
symposiums and workshops:
7th symposium on hemostasis was held at the carolina inn, chapel hill
2015htrs scientific symposium
related societies:
American society of hematology (ash)
International society on thrombosis and haemostasis (isth)
American heart association (aha)
Hemostasis and thrombosis research society

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This page was last updated on April 27, 2024