Objective: To review the current model describing coagulation processes, including the critical contributions of cells.
Data sources: Original research articles, scientific reviews, and textbooks.
Data synthesis: Normal hemostasis is vital for prevention of blood loss, but controls are necessary to limit coagulation to the site of injury. The previous cascade model of blood coagulation, although refined and updated over the last few decades, is flawed as a description of how hemostasis occurs in vivo. The recently proposed model incorporates the vital role of cells in coagulation processes, and corrects deficiencies of the older cascade models.
Conclusions: The cell-based model of coagulation provides a description of coagulation that more likely reflects hemostatic processes as they occur in vivo.