Drop Method

Materials and Method:

Few drops of blood were obtained and placed in the glass slide. A needle was
continuously drawn onto the drops for every 30 second interval until shreds of fibrin
cling to the needle. The time elapsed from placing the blood onto the slide and the
formation of fibrin shreds was recorded.
Result and Discussion:
Clotting time of the subject was 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Similar to the above
experiment, clotting time can be measured by simply dropping the blood onto the
slide.

Coagulation time is a test used to measure the ability of clotting factors to

coagulate blood. The normal value for clotting time is about 2-5 minutes. The drop
method is used to evaluate intrinsic pathway of coagulation which involves your
factors: VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII, also, proteins such as prekallikrein (PK) and highmolecular-weight kininogen (HK or HMWK), as well as calcium ions and
phospholipids secreted from platelets are required for the process to occur. Each of
these pathway constituents leads to the conversion of factor X (inactive) to factor
Xa. Initiation of the intrinsic pathway occurs when prekallikrein, high-molecularweight kininogen, factor XI and factor XII are exposed to a negatively charged
surface. This is termed the contact phase and can occur as a result of interaction
with the phospholipids (primarily phosphatidylethanolamine, PE) of circulating
lipoprotein particles such as chylomicrons, VLDLs, and oxidized LDLs. Then,
activation of the factor X will enter the common pathway for coagulation.
In the experiment, the subject had a normal clotting time based on the capillary
method which means that the factors involved in the intrinsic pathway are
functional.

Questions:
1. Which of the two methods of determining clotting time is more
accurate and why?
The more accurate method to use for the determination of clotting
time is the capillary method where the specimen is allowed to clot inside an
isolated environment (i.e., inside the tube). The process avoids contamination
of the specimen and other external factors (presence of air) which may affect
the result.
2. What is the normal range of clotting time?
2-5 minutes
3. Give the significance of clotting time.
Clotting time is an important indicator for abnormalities/absence of the
clotting factors which is indicated by prolonged clotting time. Also, evaluation of
the effectiveness of anti-coagulant therapy may also be reflected by this test.

References:
Chronolab, Switzerland, (Feb, 2011).The Clinical Chemistry-Point of Care.Clotting
Time. Retrieved from http://www.chronolab.com/point-of-care/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=59&Itemid=76
King, M.W., (Feb,2011).The Medical Biochemistry. Blood Coagulation .Retrieved from
http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/blood-coagulation.html