Thrombotic microangiopathies

Thrombotic microangiopathies are a category of pathologies that result in thrombosisin capillariesand arterioles. This process leads to thrombocytopeniaand a variety of other symptoms such as: anemia, purpura, renal failure (some), schistocytes (fragmented blood cells severed by fibrin products) and ischemic injury to cells.

Bacterial toxins are the primary cause of one category of thrombotic microangiopathy known as HUS or hemolytic uremic syndrome. The other major category is TTP or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpuracaused by autoimmune or hereditary dysfunctions that activate the coagulation cascadeor the complement system.

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrombotic+microangiopathies Wikipedia article Thrombotic microangiopathies.