Human Blood Clotting

What does your blood look like when it clots? The sequence from 2:02 to 2:23 shows a drop of normal blood during coagulation (clotting). The clot begins to form around a platelet in the top left hand corner and rapidly spreads through the blood plasma. The red blood cells are seen on either side and are stacked in a rouleaux formation. The fibers that form the clot are composed of fibrin, which are formed when fibrinogen is polymerized by clotting factors. The clot forms a pure fractal pattern. The whole process takes approximately two minutes.

This sequence was shot on an RTM-3 light microscope designed by Tim Richardson and built in Calgary, Canada by Richardson Technologies Inc. The microscope shows, with breathtaking clarity and contrast, the workings of living samples in real time, in full colour, and in their normal condition without having to use any fixatives, stains or fluorophores that may alter behavior or structure. Samples can be put in the RTM-3 and viewed at magnifications of 12-15,000 times, at resolutions at or below 185 nanometres and detection limits of better than 60 nanometres within less than 15 seconds.

The two still images at the end (2:33 to 2:46) show fatty particles (lyposomes) in the plasma of an individual who has been fasting and in an individual who had a fatty meal. These particles are metabolized in the liver.