File:3D render of a human blood clot formed in vitro under flow.jpg

English: This is an image of a blood clot taken using an inverted fluorescent confocal microscope (Zeiss LSM710).

Blood clots are made up of blood cells called platelets and a protein called fibrin which adheres to platelets and forms long strands which eventually join together in the form of a mesh in order to limit blood loss from wound sites. The green fluorescent staining represents the blood platelets which form the initial ‘plug’ at the site of injury. The red fluorescent staining represents Dylight647 labelled fibrin which has polymerised and formed a mesh around the platelets to form a blood clot. This 3D image shows that the fibrin has surrounded and encased the platelet aggregates in certain areas to form dense clots which mimic the 'platelet plug'.

This image is a 3D render of a z-stack taken of a whole blood clot formed in a collagen/thrombin coated micro fluidics chamber under flow conditions which mimic arterial shear rates (1000 s-1). The collagen activates platelets and is normally exposed when a blood vessel is damaged. Thrombin is produced in response to vessel damage and it activates platelets and also causes fibrin to polymerise to form the long fibres evident in the image.