Haemostasis

Haemostasis is the process via which the body stops blood loss in the event of vascular injury. It is a complex, strictly regulated process in which there is sudden activation in the event of vascular injury, with negative regulation to prevent inappropriate thrombus formation. Haemostasis is a huge, rapidly evolving speciality and in this article the authors discuss the current basic principles of the haemostatic mechanism, relating this to areas relevant to surgeons in training.