Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2025

In Vitro Microfluidic Disease Model to Study Whole Blood-Endothelial Interactions and Blood Clot Dynamics in Real-Time
Published on: May 24, 2020
COVID-19 shed light on Virchow's law of thrombosis
Hubert Daisley1,2, Oneka Acco3, Martina Daisley4
1General Hospital, Department of Pathology, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.
Insights
COVID-19
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary vascular disease
- Thrombosis
- Viral pathogenesis
Background:
- Virchow's law describes thrombosis triggers: vessel wall injury, blood flow stasis, and hypercoagulability.
- COVID-19 is associated with increased thrombotic events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism of pulmonary thrombosis in COVID-19.
- To determine if SARS-CoV-2 infection causes thrombosis within pulmonary vessel walls.
Main Methods:
- Postulated SARS-CoV-2 infection of alveolar type II cells or pericytes.
- Examined the cascade of inflammation and endothelial cell interaction.
- Observed thrombosis location in pulmonary vasculature.
Main Results:
- SARS-CoV-2 infection/injury promotes inflammation and endothelial cell interaction.
- Thrombosis was observed within the walls of pulmonary vessels.
- Thrombosis did not occur in the lumen of the vascular circulation.
Conclusions:
- COVID-19-induced pulmonary thrombosis originates within the vessel wall.
- SARS-CoV-2 infection initiates a cascade leading to intramural vascular thrombosis.
Abstract:
Virchow's law of thrombosis states that thrombosis in a vessel occurs as a combination of the following: (i) injury to the vessel wall, (ii) stasis of blood flow, and (iii) blood hypercoagulability. Injury to the wall includes infection/inflammation and/or injury to the resident cells of the wall. We postulate that in COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2 virus directly infects the alveolar type II cell or directly or indirectly infects/injures the pericyte, promoting inflammation and interaction with endothelial cells, thereby causing a cascade of events leading to our observation that thrombosis occurred within the walls of the pulmonary vessels and not in the lumen of the vascular circulation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Venous Thrombosis I: Introduction
Anticoagulant Drugs: Low-Molecular-Weight Heparins
Venous Thrombosis III: Interprofessional Care
Clot Retraction and Fibrinolysis
Disorders of Hemostasis
Thromboembolic Disorders
Two factors primarily cause thromboembolic conditions.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Pathways of Hemostasis
The Extrinsic Pathway
The extrinsic pathway of coagulation is typically initiated by tissue damage that exposes blood to tissue factor (TF), a protein released by the damaged tissue cells outside the blood vessels—this interaction with TF triggers biochemical reactions involving specific clotting factors. The key player here is Factor VII, which...

