Blood platelets
Blood Platelets
Blood platelets, also known as thrombocytes (pronounced: throm-bo-sites), are small, colorless cell fragments in our blood that form clots and stop or prevent bleeding.
Etymology
The term "platelet" is derived from the Greek word "platys", meaning "flat", and the suffix "-let", meaning "little". The term "thrombocyte" comes from the Greek words "thrombos", meaning "clot", and "kytos", meaning "cell".
Function
Blood platelets are essential for hemostasis, the process that causes bleeding to stop, and they also play a key role in inflammation. They are produced in the bone marrow and are then released into the bloodstream. When there is an injury that causes a break in a blood vessel, platelets are attracted to the site where they stick together to form a blood clot to stop the bleeding.
Related Terms
- Hemostasis: The process of stopping the flow of blood.
- Thrombosis: The formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system.
- Coagulation: The process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot.
- Thrombocytopenia: A condition characterized by abnormally low levels of thrombocytes, or platelets, in the blood.
- Thrombocytosis: A disorder in which your body produces too many platelets.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Blood platelets
- Wikipedia's article - Blood platelets
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