commonly used drugs
aspirin
heparin
acid citrate dextrose
vitamin K1
Blood
Definitions
Thrombus = blood clot Thrombosis = excessive clotting in blood vessels Thrombo-embolism = blood vessel (usually arterial) blockage caused by a bit of clot breaking off and getting jammed in a blood vessel down stream.
The usual therapeutic aims in veterinary medicine are to encourage blood clotting at the site of injury and prevent clotting in the circulation. Possible targets:
vascular smooth muscle - vasoconstriction restricts flow to the affected area
platelets - platelet adhesion and aggregation forms a viscous mass (platelet plug)
clotting factors - activation of clotting factors results in polmerisation of fibrin to form a stable clot
Anticoagulant poisoning is commonly seen in dogs which have eaten coumarin rat poisons (eg, warfarin).
