prothrombinn.
/ˌprəʊˈθrɒmbɪn/, U.S. /ˌproʊˈθrɑmb(ə)n/ Physiology.
A plasma glycoprotein which is converted into thrombin in the clotting process and is synthesized in the liver by a vitamin K-dependent pathway.Prothrombin is one of the clotting factors (factor II).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > components of blood > [noun] > other components
iron1799
blood iron1858
prothrombin1898
thrombogen1904
chylomicron1921
myeloperoxidase1943
prealbumin1953
vitellogenin1969
1898 E. A. Schäfer Text-bk. Physiol. I. 160 The fibrin ferment is sometimes spoken of as ‘thrombin’, and the nucleo-proteid material in the plasma from which it is produced is then termed ‘prothrombin’.
1912 J. G. McKendrick Princ. Physiol. viii. 117 The theory at present in vogue is that when blood is shed there is at once the death of many colourless cells. These contain a protein called pro-thrombin, which, in turn, produces an enzyme known as thrombin.
1965 F. Gerrard Macgregor's Struct. Meat Animals (ed. 2) vi. 108 Thrombo-plastin..causes the calcium to combine with the prothrombin forming ‘Thrombin’, and thrombin, when combined with fibrinogen, forms ‘Fibrin’, the actual material of a clot.
2003 Nature 2 Oct. p. xl Staphylocoagulase, secreted by the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, induces blood coagulation, and contributes to the pathology of endocarditis and septic shock, by activating prothrombin.
Compounds
prothrombin time n. a test of the clotting ability of blood, used e.g. in the monitoring of patients receiving oral anticoagulants; (also) the time taken for blood to clot in this test.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > period > [noun]
logarithmic phase1914
prothrombin time1927
log phase1938
turnover time1943
survival time1947
pulse1960
scotophase1962
1927 Arch. Surg. 15 260 The prothrombin time was calculated by the method of Howell.
1957 A. J. Quick Hemorrhagic Dis. ii. 44 The prothrombin time of normal human plasma is consistently 12 seconds, whereas when measured by the two-stage test, it varies from 244 to 452 units.
1972 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 1 Feb. 2/1 I am on anticoagulants and have a prothrombin time test taken weekly to determine dosage.
1990 DVM Apr. 23/4 Routine screening tests of clotting activity, such as the activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time and thrombin time, will usually not detect individuals that carry the genetic defect.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1898