Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Conflict of Interest
    • Informed Consent
    • Human and Animal Rights
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Folders
  • ascls.org
    • ascls.org

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
  • ascls.org
    • ascls.org
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Conflict of Interest
    • Informed Consent
    • Human and Animal Rights
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Folders
  • Follow ASCLS on Twitter
  • Visit ASCLS on Facebook
  • Follow ASCLS on Instagram
  • RSS Feed
Research ArticleFocus: Antiplatelet Drugs and Platelet Function Testing

Platelet Structure and Function

George A. Fritsma
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science April 2015, 28 (2) 125-131; DOI: https://doi.org/10.29074/ascls.28.2.125
George A. Fritsma
The Fritsma Factor, Your Interactive Hemostasis Resource, Fritsma & Fritsma LLC, Birmingham, AL
MS, MLS
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: George@fritsmafactor.com
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

  1. George A. Fritsma, MS, MLS⇑
    1. The Fritsma Factor, Your Interactive Hemostasis Resource, Fritsma & Fritsma LLC, Birmingham, AL
  1. Address for Correspondence: George A. Fritsma, MS, MLS, The Fritsma Factor, Your Interactive Hemostasis Resource, Fritsma & Fritsma LLC, 153 Redwood Drive, Birmingham, AL 35173, George{at}fritsmafactor.com
  1. Diagram platelet structure, including glycocalyx, plasma membrane, filaments, microtubules, and granules.

  2. Illustrate platelet adhesion, including the role of von Willebrand factor

  3. Illustrate platelet aggregation, including the role of fibrinogen

  4. List the secretions of platelet dense bodies and α-granules

  5. Demonstrate the relationship of platelets and the plasma coagulation mechanism.

Extract

Platelets are blood cells that are released from bone marrow megakaryocytes and circulate for approximately 10 days. They possess granular cytoplasm with no nucleus and their diameter when seen in a Wright-stained peripheral blood film averages 2.5 um with a subpopulation of larger cells, 4–5 um. Mean platelet volume (MPV), as measured in a buffered isotonic suspension flowing through the impedance-based detector cell of a clinical profiling instrument, is 8–10 fL.

Circulating, resting platelets are biconvex, although in EDTA blood they tend to “round up.” On a blood film, platelets appear circular to irregular, lavender, and granular, although their diminutive size makes them hard to examine for internal structure.1 In the blood, their surface is even, and they flow smoothly through veins, arteries, and capillaries.

The normal peripheral blood platelet count is 150–400,000/μL. This count represents only two thirds of available platelets because the spleen sequesters the remainder. In hypersplenism or splenomegaly, increased sequestration may cause a relative thrombocytopenia. Under conditions of hemostatic need, platelets move from the spleen to the peripheral blood and answer cellular and humoral stimuli by becoming irregular and sticky, extending pseudopods, and adhering to neighboring structures or aggregating with one another.

Platelet Plasma Membrane The platelet plasma membrane is a standard bilayer composed of proteins and lipids (Figure 1). The predominant lipids are phospholipids, which form the basic structure, and cholesterol, which distributes asymmetrically throughout the phospholipids. The phospholipids form a bilayer with their polar heads oriented toward aqueous environments—toward the plasma externally…

ABBRVIATIONS: ADP-adenosine diphosphate; ATP-adenosine triphosphate; CAM-cell adhesion molecule; cAMP-cyclic adenosine monophosphate; DAG-diacylglycerol; DTS-dense tubular system; ECM-extracellular matrix; EGF-endothelial growth factor; GMP-guanidine monophosphate; GP-glycoprotein; HMWK-high-molecular-weight kininogen; Ig-immunoglobulin; IP3-inositol triphosphate; IP-PGI2 receptor; MPV-mean platelet volume; P2Y1 and P2Y12-ADP receptors; PAI-1-plasminogen activator inhibitor-1; PAR-protease-activated receptor; PF4-platelet factor 4; PGG2-prostaglandin G2; PGH2-prostaglandin H2; PDCI-platelet-derived collagenase inhibitor; PDGF-platelet-derived growth factor; PECAM-1-platelet–endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1; PGI2-prostaglandin I2 (prostacyclin); RGD-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid receptor target; SCCS-surface-connected canalicular system; STR-seven-transmembrane repeat receptor; TGF-β-transforming growth factor-β; TPα and TPβ-thromboxane receptors; TXA2-thromboxane A2; VEGF/VPF-vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor; VWF-von Willebrand factor

    INDEX TERMS
  • Cell adhesion molecules
  • eicosanoid synthesis
  • glycoprotein
  • ligands
  • prostaglandin
  • platelet adhesion
  • platelet aggregation
  • platelet agonists
  • platelet count
  • platelet function
  • platelet production
  • platelet secretion
  • platelet structure
  1. Diagram platelet structure, including glycocalyx, plasma membrane, filaments, microtubules, and granules.

  2. Illustrate platelet adhesion, including the role of von Willebrand factor

  3. Illustrate platelet aggregation, including the role of fibrinogen

  4. List the secretions of platelet dense bodies and α-granules

  5. Demonstrate the relationship of platelets and the plasma coagulation mechanism.

  • © Copyright 2015 American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Inc. All rights reserved.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science: 28 (2)
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
Vol. 28, Issue 2
Spring 2015
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Platelet Structure and Function
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Platelet Structure and Function
George A. Fritsma
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Apr 2015, 28 (2) 125-131; DOI: 10.29074/ascls.28.2.125

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Platelet Structure and Function
George A. Fritsma
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Apr 2015, 28 (2) 125-131; DOI: 10.29074/ascls.28.2.125
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Introduction
  • Managing Antiplatelet Therapy
Show more Focus: Antiplatelet Drugs and Platelet Function Testing

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • Cell adhesion molecules
  • eicosanoid synthesis
  • glycoprotein
  • ligands
  • prostaglandin
  • platelet adhesion
  • platelet aggregation
  • platelet agonists
  • platelet count
  • platelet function
  • platelet production
  • platelet secretion
  • platelet structure

© 2025 The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science

Powered by HighWire