This glossary currently contains medical and blood-related
terms and is regularly updated.
Click on a letter below to list terms alphabetically, or use the search facility to scan the glossary database.
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Factor Deficiencies
A term used to describe a number of conditions that manifest as a qualitative or quantitative abnormality of proteins involved in blood clotting.
Factor IX
One of the proteins in the blood which is involved in clotting (deficient in haemophilia B).
Factor VII
One of the proteins in the blood which is involved in clotting. It is one of the early proteins in the coagulation cascade.
Factor VIII
One of the proteins in the blood which is involved in clotting (deficient in haemophilia A).
Factor XI
One of the proteins in the blood which is involved in clotting (deficient in people, especially Ashkenazi Jews).
Factor XIII
One of the proteins in the blood which is involved in clotting, and stabilises and stenghthens the fibrin clot.
Fibrin
Substance found in the blood. Produced in threads, it eventually forms a close meshwork which is the foundation for a stable clot.
Fibrinolytic System
Responsible for breaking down fibrin. In the normal state it balances the inherent clotting activity of the blood.
Flexion Deformities
A joint that is permanently flexed and unable to straighten; most often occurs at the hip, knee and elbow.
Fractionation
Separation and processing of human blood plasma into a range of products for therapeutic use. A fractionation plant is a facility that carries out fractionation.
Fractionator
Authority or company owning and administrating a plant that carries out fractionation.
Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP)
Human plasma separated from blood cells and platelets soon after donation and frozen at - 30°C. FFP contains all the clotting factors, but at very low concentration to volume.
