Platelet-Vessel Wall Interactions In Hemostasis And Thrombosis

Platelets are essentials mediators of the physiologic process of hemostasis and pathologic thrombosis. While platelets do not interact with vascular walls under normal conditions, vascular injury or infammation result in a coordinated series of events including platelet adhesion, aggregation, and promotion of coagulation. In this review, we describe the primary mechanisms involved in these reponses in various vascular beds of both macro- and microvessls; and outline key unresolved aspects of these important interactions.