Journal of Hematology & Thromboembolic Diseases
Open Access

Prothrombin.

Prothrombin, glycoprotein (carbohydrate-protein compound) occurring in plasma and an important component of the blood-clotting mechanism. Prothrombin is transformed into thrombin by a coagulation factor referred to as prothrombinase or prothrombinase; thrombin then acts to rework fibrinogen, also present in plasma, into fibrin, which, together with platelets from the blood, forms a clot (a process called coagulation). Under normal circumstances, prothrombin is modified into thrombin only an injury occurs to the tissues or cardiovascular system or both; therefore, fibrin and blood clots aren't formed except in response to bleeding. Hypoprothrombinemia, a deficiency in prothrombin, is characterized by a bent to prolonged bleeding. it's usually related to a scarcity of vitamin K, which is important for the synthesis of prothrombin within the liver cells. In adults the condition occurs most ordinarily in cases of obstructive jaundice, during which the flow of bile to the bowel is interrupted—bile being necessary for the intestinal absorption of vitamin K. It also can result from a general impairment in the liver and intestinal-cell function or overdose of warfarin and related therapeutic anticoagulants.