Cell mediated events that control blood coagulation and vascular injury

Recent studies suggest that the generation of thrombin and other clotting factors plays a major role in cellular regulation and probably a variety of disease processes. Many of these cellular responses occur at thrombin levels lower than those required for fibrin clot formation. The availability of more specific reagents to intervene in the coagulation process will likely provide a better understanding of the role of the coagulation cascade and its inhibitors in normal and pathologic responses. In the immediate future, improved understanding of the role of inflammation and cellular responses in the control of coagulation offers many new and potentially safer interventions to prevent thrombosis.

It was my intent in this chapter to provide some outlines of the role of membranes in the blood clotting process and the role of coagulation factors in cellular activation. The scope of the area is so extensive that many important contributions have been overlooked and space limitations forced citation of reviews rather than primary publications in many cases. I regret these oversights.