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That's right! Without von Willebrand factor to attach the platelets to the injury, they just keep circulating in the blood as if nothing were wrong. The clot never forms, and the client keeps on bleeding (Pollak and Stein, 2004).

This has explained how the platelets know to adhere to the injury.

When the platelets adhere to the injury, they change shape and become spiky. Glycoprotein receptors on their surfaces bind to other platelets until a mass of platelets, or a platelet plug, has formed. Often this is enough to seal the injury.

If the injury is too large, though, fibrin filaments will be needed.

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