Blood Clot

A blood clot, medically known as a thrombus, is an aggregation of blood that has changed from a liquid to a gel-like or semisolid state. Clotting is a necessary process that occurs to prevent excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. It involves platelets, which are small blood cells that rush to the site of injury to form a temporary plug, and a cascade of proteins called clotting factors that work together to strengthen the seal by creating a mesh of fibrin threads in which blood cells are trapped.

However, not all clots form in response to an injury, and those that form abnormally can be harmful. These can develop inside veins or arteries without an apparent wound, often due to slow or turbulent blood flow, damage to the blood vessel lining, or hypercoagulability, a condition making blood more prone to clotting. Dangerous complications can arise if a clot travels to vital organs such as the lungs, heart, or brain, leading to conditions like pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Therefore, prompt detection and treatment of abnormal clots are crucial, typically with anticoagulant medications that inhibit blood’s ability to clot, or thrombolytic agents that help dissolve existing clots.