see also Platelet lymphocyte ratio
Platelets, also called “thrombocytes”, are blood cells whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to stop bleeding.
Platelets have no nucleus: they are fragments of cytoplasm which are derived from the megakaryocytes of the bone marrow, and then enter the circulation. These unactivated platelets are biconvex discoid structures shaped like a lens, 2–3 µm in greatest diameter.
Platelets are found only in mammals, an adaptation that may have evolved to offset the risk of death from hemorrhage at childbirth – a risk unique to mammals.
see platelet count.
see thrombocytopenia.
see Platelet Function.