Thrombus formation in vivo.

To examine thrombus formation in a living mouse, new technologies involving intravital videomicroscopy have been applied to the analysis of vascular windows to directly visualize arterioles and venules. After vessel wall injury in the microcirculation, thrombus development can be imaged in real time. These systems have been used to explore the role of platelets, blood coagulation proteins, endothelium, and the vessel wall during thrombus formation. The study of biochemistry and cell biology in a living animal offers new understanding of physiology and pathology in complex biologic systems.