Coagula

Coagula is the Latin plural of coagulum and is used in English to refer to clumps or masses formed by coagulation. The term appears in medical, anatomical, and historical contexts, particularly when Latin terminology is retained.

In medicine, a coagulum denotes a solid mass produced when blood or plasma thickens. Coagulation is the sequence of enzyme-driven reactions that converts a liquid blood plasma into a gel-like clot, aided by platelets and fibrin networks. The resulting clot serves to stop bleeding and can later be dissolved by fibrinolytic processes.

In alchemy and Hermetic traditions, the words solve et coagula (dissolve and coagulate) describe a two-stage process of dissolution and recombination intended to purify substances or the self. The expression is associated with early modern writers such as Paracelsus and has persisted in occult and esoteric literature as a metaphor for transformation.

Etymology: coagula derives from Latin coagulum, a neuter noun formed from coagulare, to coagulate. The singular is coagulum, and the plural coagula has been used in both scientific and historical Latin contexts.

In summary, coagula can refer to the plural form of a coagulum in biological contexts or function as a shorthand for alchemical concepts expressed by dissolution and subsequent coagulation. Related terms include coagulation, coagulum, and clotting.