Role of blood platelet in the formation of thrombus

Abstract

In the busulfan-induced thrombocytopenic rabbits, the femoral artery was completely occluded after injection with ellagic acid at the site of stenosing ligature in 5 out of 15 rabbits, while in the control rabbits with normal platelet count, a large thrombus was present around the stricture in 12 out of 17 rabbits. Occluding thrombus was produced in only 2 out of 15 rabbits which ingested more than 0.05 g of aspirin 6 hours before surgery. Rate of occluding thrombus formation on the chemically intimectomized femoral artery with diluted sulfuric acid was evidently high in the rabbits with rebound thrombocytosis after transient thrombocytopenia induced by intravenous injection with anti-platelet serum. In the case of stasis thrombus formation, both in thrombocytopenic rabbits and in aspirin-ingested rabbits, percentage of rabbits producing the thrombus was not significantly different from that of the control. From the results described above, it is suggested that both quantitatively and qualitatively normal platelets are required for the production of arterial thrombosis. On the other hand, blood platelets may not contribute to the formation of stasis thrombosis.