Platelet
An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting. During normal blood clotting, the platelets clump together (aggregate). Although platelets are often classed as blood cells, they are actually fragments of large bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes.
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- Platelet aggregation
The clumping together of platelets in the blood. Platelet aggregation is part of the sequence of events leading to the formation of a thrombus (clot).
- Platelet count
The calculated number of platelets in a volume of blood, usually expressed as platelets per cubic millimeter (cmm) of whole blood. Platelets are the smallest cell-like structures in the blood and are important for blood clotting and plugging damaged blood vessels. Platelet counts are usually done by laboratory machines that also count other blood elements […]
- plegia
Suffix meaning paralysis or a stroke. As in cardioplegia (paralysis of the heart), hemiplegia (paralysis of one side of the body), paraplegia (paralysis of the legs), and quadriplegia (paralysis of all four extremities). From the Greek plege meaning a blow or stroke.
- Pleiotropic
Producing or having multiple effects from a single gene. For example, the Marfan gene is pleiotropic, potentially causing such diverse effects as long fingers and toes (arachnodactyly), dislocation of the lens of the eye, and dissecting aneurysm of the aorta.
- Pleiotropic cytokine
cytokine that affects the activity of multiple cell types. A cytokine is a small protein that has a specific effect on the interactions between cells, on communications between cells, or on the behavior of cells.