Fibrinabbaus

Fibrinabbaus is a rarely used term in medical literature that designates the degradation or disassembly of fibrin within a blood clot. The word combines fibrin with Abbau, the German term for degradation, and is primarily found in German-language discussions of coagulation and thrombosis. In English-language sources, the concept is usually described with the terms fibrin degradation, fibrinolysis, or fibrin breakdown rather than the specific noun 'Fibrinabbaus.'

Mechanism: Fibrinabbaus occurs through proteolytic cleavage of polymerized fibrin by plasmin and related proteases. Activation of plasminogen to plasmin is driven by tissue plasminogen activator, urokinase, or fibrinolytic drugs. Plasmin cleaves fibrin at multiple sites, generating soluble degradation products such as D-dimers and other fibrin fragments. Inhibitors of fibrinolysis, such as PAI-1 and alpha2-antiplasmin, regulate the rate and extent of degradation. The balance between thrombus stability and degradation determines whether fibrinabbaus proceeds rapidly or slowly.

Clinical relevance: The process is central to thrombolytic therapy, wound remodeling, and resolution of thrombi. Measurement of fibrin degradation products, including D-dimers, serves as a clinical marker of ongoing fibrinolysis, though the specific term 'Fibrinabbaus' is not routinely used in labs or guidelines. The term is largely historical or regional, and modern texts favor fibrinolysis or fibrin degradation as descriptors.

See also: fibrinolysis; fibrin degradation products; D-dimer.