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anticoagulant
anticoagulant , any of several substances that inhibit blood clot formation (see blood clotting ). Some anticoagulants, such as the coumarin derivatives bishydroxycoumarin (Dicumarol) and warfarin (Coumadin) inhibit synthesis of prothrombin, a clot-forming substance, and other clotting factors. The...
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heparin
heparin , anticoagulant produced by cells in many animals. A polysaccharide, heparin is found in the human body and occurs in greatest concentration in the tissues surrounding the capillaries of the lungs and the liver. The substance, extracted from animal tissues, is used clinically to delay blo...
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warfarin
warfarin , anticoagulant used to treat blood clots. In large doses it causes bleeding, and in patients with genetic variations that increase sensitivity to the drug and decrease the rate at which it is metabolized standard dosages may also cause bleeding. Warfarin, mixed with bait, is used in rode...
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embolus
embolus , foreign matter circulating in and obstructing a blood vessel. It may be a portion of a clot that has separated from the wall of a vessel (see thrombosis ), a bubble of gas or air (known as an air embolus), a globule of fat, a clump of bacterial matter, or a clump of tumor cells. It circul...
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phlebitis
phlebitis , inflammation of a vein. Phlebitis is almost always accompanied by a blood clot, or thrombus, in the affected vein, a condition known as thrombophlebitis (see thrombosis ). Blood-clot formation may follow injury or be associated with infections. Thrombophlebitis of deep veins, usually in...
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blood clotting
blood clotting process by which the blood coagulates to form solid masses, or clots. In minor injuries, small oval bodies called platelets, or thrombocytes, tend to collect and form plugs in blood vessel openings. To control bleeding from vessels larger than capillaries a clot must form at the poin...
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blood bank
blood bank site or mobile unit for collecting, processing, typing, and storing whole blood , blood plasma and other blood constituents. Most hospitals maintain their own blood reserves, and the American Red Cross provides a nationwide collection and distribution service. The Red Cross collects abo...
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lamprey
lamprey name for several primitive marine and freshwater fishes of the order Cyclostomata, or jawless fishes (see cyclostome ). As in the other member of the order, the hagfish , the adult lamprey retains the notochord , the supporting structure that in higher vertebrates is found only in the em...
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leech
leech predacious or parasitic annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, characterized by a cylindrical or slightly flattened body with suckers at either end for attaching to prey. The leech, like other annelids, is segmented, but its numerous surface folds obscure the internal segments. In many forms th...
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mucopolysaccharide
mucopolysaccharide , class of polysaccharide molecules, also known as glycosaminoglycans, composed of amino-sugars chemically linked into repeating units that give a linear unbranched polymeric compound. The monomeric amino-sugar constituents are ordinary monosaccharides that contain a nitrogen atom...
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