"DEVELOPMENTAL HEMOSTASIS" AND PEDIATRIC SURGERY

Abstract

Hemostasis can be defined as a physiological process that stops bleeding after injury of blood vessels. It is a complex and highly regulated process to localize the blood clot only to the site of injury. The hemostatic system in the human body is based on the components of Virchow’s triad: 1. vascular injury, 2. change in blood coagulability, 3. disturbance of blood flow (stasis). If the third component (blood flow) is excluded, hemostasis can be defined as an inter-reaction between the blood vessel wall, blood cell components and plasma proteins that maintain the hemostatic balance. The final outcome of hemostasis is coagulation of blood at the site of vascular injury(1,3). Hemostasis can be divided into primary, secondary and tertiary hemostasis. These three independent mechanisms combine to maintain hemostatic balance.