• Question: what are blood clots

    Asked by anon-39766 to Lyndsey, James, Ingmar on 7 Nov 2022. This question was also asked by anon-39831.
    • Photo: James Brown

      James Brown answered on 7 Nov 2022:

      In simple terms, blood clots are made up of red blood cells and platelets. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrombus)

      I used to work in a lab where researchers were taking snake venom and figured out what it was in the venom that made blood clot (and kill the prey, in Australia we have some pretty nasty snakes )- the aim was to artificially make that compound and then use it to make blood clot for accident victims. It was super interesting, and we had venomous snakes in the freezers…

    • Photo: Lyndsey Moore

      Lyndsey Moore answered on 8 Nov 2022:

      Blood clots are totally normal and most commonly happen when you cut your finger or scrape your knee. Blood clots form scabs which help your scratches and cuts heal. Sometimes, they can form inside your veins, which can cause issues. If they form inside your veins when they’re not supposed to, blood clots can cause your blood to flow poorly, among other issues.

    • Photo: Ingmar Schoen

      Ingmar Schoen answered on 2 Dec 2022: last edited 2 Dec 2022 8:27 am

      Blood clots are like a glue that seals off a hole in a blood vessel. They contain blood cells and also a glue-like substance called fibrin. Among the cells, tiny cells called platelets are important to help forming the clot in the first place. Other immune cells are important to heal the wound later on. The glue-like substance, fibrin, is actually also used by surgeons to glue something to the tissue in your body.

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