Anatomy & Physiology › Section P · Blood › Topic P.4
Hemostasis
A small cut stops bleeding within minutes because three responses overlap: the vessel narrows, platelets plug the gap and a cascade of plasma proteins weaves a fibrin mesh. The same system must also stay switched off everywhere else, and then dissolve the clot once the vessel has healed.
In this topic
- Three overlapping steps
- Vascular spasm
- The platelet plug
- Clotting factors
- Two ways to start the cascade
- The common pathway
- Worked example: a cut finger
- Retraction, repair and dissolving the clot
- Worked example: inheriting hemophilia A
- When hemostasis fails or overshoots
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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