Platelet Kinetics

How to Subscribe
MLS & MLT Comprehensive CE Package
Includes 183 CE courses, most popular		$109Add to cart
Pick Your Courses
Up to 8 CE hours		$55Add to cart
Individual course$25Add to cart
The page below is a sample from the LabCE course Fundamentals of Hemostasis. Access the complete course and earn ASCLS P.A.C.E.-approved continuing education credits by subscribing online.

Learn more about Fundamentals of Hemostasis (online CE course)
Platelet Kinetics

Kinetic processes specific to Platelets:

  1. Adhesion: When platelets adhere to exposed collagen, they take on a characteristic “spiny” shape. Their inherent stickiness and spiny shapes complement each other during this process. Von Willebrand Factor (vWF) is absorbed by surface receptors on the platelet and exposed subendothelial tissue, thereby linking the platelets to the tissue.

  2. Release: This process occurs before aggregation. Platelets dump the contents of their granules (ADP, Serotonin, and Calcium), which aid the upcoming aggregation process by acting as a chemical signal.

  3. Aggregation: Platelets physically bind to each other, not just to the exposed subendothelial walls and collagen of the breached vessel. Platelet aggregation requires sufficient chemical signal stimulation.

  4. Stabilization (technically part of secondary hemostasis as fibrin is a product of secondary hemostasis): This process strengthens the platelet plug by adding interwoven fibrin strands, ultimately producing a fibrin clot. The durability of fibrin clots is the ultimate goal of hemostatic processes.