anticoagulant
Sign in to saveAn anticoagulant, commonly known as a blood thinner, is a chemical substance that prevents or reduces the coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some occur naturally in blood-eating animals, such as leeches and mosquitoes, which help keep the bite area unclotted long enough for the animal to obtain blood.
Key facts
- Drug class.Name
- Anticoagulant
- Drug class.Image
- Coagulation Cascade and Major Classes of Anticoagulants.png
- Drug class.ImageClass
- skin-invert-image
- Drug class.Caption
- Coagulation cascade and major classes of anticoagulants
- Drug class.ATC_prefix
- B01
- Drug class.MeshID
- D00534-class
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
22 sectionsContents
- Medical uses
- Adverse effects
- Interactions
- Types
- Heparin and derivative substances
- Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH)
- Synthetic pentasaccharide inhibitors of factor Xa
- <span class="anchor" id="Direct oral anticoagulants"></span> Direct oral
- Direct factor Xa inhibitors
- Direct thrombin inhibitors
- Relevance to dental treatments
- Antithrombin protein therapeutics
- Other
- Reversal agents
- Coagulation inhibitor measurement
- Laboratory use
- Dental considerations for long-term users
- Research
- Utilization
- See also
- References
- External links
An anticoagulant, commonly known as a blood thinner, is a chemical substance that prevents or reduces the coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some occur naturally in blood-eating animals, such as leeches and mosquitoes, which help keep the bite area unclotted long enough for the animal to obtain blood.
As a class of medications, anticoagulants are used in therapy for thrombotic disorders. Oral anticoagulants (OACs) are taken by many people in pill or tablet form, and various intravenous anticoagulant dosage forms are used in hospitals. Some anticoagulants are used in medical equipment, such as sample tubes, blood transfusion bags, heart–lung machines, and dialysis equipment. One of the first anticoagulants, warfarin, was initially approved as a rodenticide.