Should We Replace the Terms Intrinsic and Extrinsic Coagulation Pathways With Tissue Factor Pathway?

Present review highlights some new aspects of the role of individual components of blood coagulation process and proposes a modified concept of hemocoagulation cascade. The role of FXII in the initiation of the so-called intrinsic coagulation system is currently questioned. Its role has been recently demonstrated mainly in the thrombus propagation and final stabilization together with factors XI and XIII. The edited concept underlines the common part of the tissue factor (TF) in the initiation of both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of the coagulation system and therefore may make it not improperly be called the TF coagulation pathway. The search for new antithrombotic agents shows that the level of the coagulation system blockade depends on which step in the coagulation cascade is targeted and results in different degrees of the antithrombotic efficiency and the risk of bleeding complications.