thromboplastin

American

[throm-buh-plas-tin] / ˌθrɒm bəˈplæs tɪn /

noun

Biochemistry. a lipoprotein in the blood that converts prothrombin to thrombin.
Pharmacology. a commercial form of this substance, obtained from the brains of cattle, used chiefly as a local hemostatic and as a laboratory reagent in blood prothrombin tests.

thromboplastin British

/ ˌθrɒmbəʊˈplæstɪn /

noun

Also called: thrombokinase. any of a group of substances that are liberated from damaged blood platelets and other tissues and convert prothrombin to thrombin

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of thromboplastin

First recorded in 1910–15; thrombo- + -plast + -in ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Activated clotting or activated partial thromboplastin time assays are currently used to calculate heparin doses, but these are time-consuming, expensive and can be unreliable.

From Scientific American

Head trauma can cause blood clots, Narayan said, because the injury triggers the production of thromboplastin, a blood protein that causes the blood to clot.

From Reuters

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023