Venostasis-induced thrombosis in rats is not influenced by circulating platelet or leukocyte number.

In this paper experiments were designed to evaluate the role of platelet and leukocyte number in experimental venous thrombosis in rats. For this purpose venous thrombosis was induced by ligature of the inferior vena cava in animals made thrombocytopenic (5% of control) by antiplatelet antiserum or leukopenic (5-10% of control), by myelotoxic drugs. In normal animals the platelet count did not change after 2 or 3 hours of venous stasis, independently of whether a thrombus was present or not; the leukocyte count was significantly raised after ligature depending mainly on the duration of the stasis. Neither thrombocytopenia nor leukopenia, on the other hand, did influence the development of venous thrombosis.