The platelets (or thrombocytes) and the proteins (clotting factors) in plasma protect the body from blood loss in the event of a minor injury.
The cessation of bleeding involves multiple steps:
The steps involved in the cessation of bleeding:
- The injured blood vessels tighten, they constrict.
- Platelets stick to the edge of the tear in the vessel, plugging it within just a few minutes.
- Coagulation factors (plasma proteins) are activated and, in a complex process, long strands of an insoluble protein called fibrin are formed.
- The fibrin reinforces the platelet plug, which shields the wound, enabling it to heal.