Path, Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation
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<li><b>Exposure of blood to procoagulants</b> – Tissue damage from the initiating primary disease releases procoagulants into the bloodstream.</li>
<li><b>Formation of fibrin in the circulation</b> – Tissue procoagulants activate hemostasis primarily through the interaction of tissue factor and Factor VII, which promotes fibrin formation and deposition within the microcirculation.</li>
<li><b>Fibrinolysis</b> – Fibrin formation activates the fibrinolysis pathway, which produces plasmin that cleaves fibrinogen and fibrin, thereby generating fibrin degradation products (FDPs). FDPs interfere with fibrin polymerization and impair platelet aggregation.</li>
<li><b>Depletion of clotting factors and platelets</b> – Ongoing activation of the coagulation system and fibrin deposition consume clotting factors and platelets.</li>
<li><b>End-organ damage</b> – Deposition of fibrin into the microcirculation of organs results in tissue ischemia and damage.</li>
<li><b>Hemolysis</b> – Intravascular fibrin strands cause mechanical shearing of red blood cells resulting in microangiopathic hemolytic anemia</li>
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