Australian Dental Council (ADC) Test 2026 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Platelets are essential components of the hemostatic process, primarily functioning to form a plug at the site of vascular injury. When blood vessels are damaged, platelets rapidly adhere to the exposed collagen and other subendothelial structures at the injury site. Upon activation, they change shape, release chemical signals that recruit additional platelets, and aggregate to form a temporary "plug" that helps stop bleeding. This process is crucial for preventing excessive blood loss and is particularly significant in small, ruptured vessels.

While other choices reference important aspects of hemostasis, they do not accurately reflect the primary role of platelets. For instance, converting fibrinogen to fibrin is primarily performed by thrombin during the coagulation cascade, which occurs after the initial platelet plug has formed. The involvement of proconvertin is related to specific coagulation factor activation, while the initiation of fibrinolysis pertains to the dissolution of clots rather than the formation of the initial plug. Thus, platelets are fundamentally important in the agglutination and plugging of small, ruptured vessels to establish hemostasis.