Vérrögök

Vérrögök, also known as blood clots, are gel-like masses formed from blood that has coagulated. This process is a natural and essential part of hemostasis, the body's mechanism for stopping bleeding. When a blood vessel is injured, platelets aggregate at the site of the wound, and a cascade of protein interactions, involving clotting factors, leads to the formation of fibrin. Fibrin strands then form a mesh that traps blood cells and platelets, creating a solid clot to seal the damaged vessel and prevent further blood loss.

While vital for wound healing, blood clots can also cause serious health problems when they form inappropriately within blood vessels. These pathological clots can obstruct blood flow, leading to conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the legs, pulmonary embolism (PE) if a clot travels to the lungs, stroke if it blocks a vessel in the brain, and heart attack if it impedes blood flow to the heart muscle. Factors contributing to abnormal clot formation include immobility, certain medical conditions, genetic predispositions, and some medications. Medical treatments for dangerous blood clots often involve anticoagulant medications, which interfere with the clotting process, or thrombolytic drugs, which dissolve existing clots.