MadSci Network: Immunology |
Dear Dan:
This is a good question. Actually hemoglobin, and the red blood cells that carry them have nothing to do with blood clotting. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to the cells of the body.
Blood clotting is a very complicated process. This process is also called coagulation. It involves cells called platelets and a lot of other proteins called coagulation factors. During injury, platelets become activated and will clump together to form a loose plug. One of coagulation factors, called fibrinogen, can form into long, sticky threads (also called a clot) which traps and stabilizes the platelet plugs. This is how a clot is formed.
There are lots & lots of other things involved in clot formation, but these are the basics. Here are some websites that you might find interesting:
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/7/ 0,5716,108657+1+106086,00.html?query=blood%20clot
http://search.britannica.com/bcom/search/results/?p_query0=%2Bblood+clot a> http:// www.graylab.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?blood+clot
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Immunology.