ABSTRACT
Two very different processes combine to stop the flow of blood (hemostasis) from a blood vessel: the clumping of platelets and the formation of a fibrin clot. The first event is a rapid assembling of platelets (thrombocytes) at a point of blood vessel injury which gives a plug that stops the loss of blood from that zone. Assembly of this plug is then followed by a more progressive appearance of insoluble fibrin fibers which form the network of a clot. The chemistry underlying these two processes is very different, and the process of assembling platelets to form a thrombus and their interactions with plasma proteins to form a blood clot appear to significantly involve the eicosanoids that are made from the polyunsaturated fatty acids. Primary attention on coronary thrombosis in this chapter is focused on platelet function affected by dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids, although recent studies indicate that some of the factors involved in fibrin formation or clotting may also be affected by the composition of dietary fatty acids.
