Raymond Zhao, Medical Student (Kanthi Laboratory), Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School 

Venous thrombosis occurs when a blot clot, or thrombus, forms within a vein. This commonly occurs in the large veins of the leg and is known as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). In response to the disruption of physiologic blood flow by the clot, many inflammatory pathways are triggered. In one model of DVT in the mouse, the inferior vena cava is surgically ligated to reduce blood flow; the image shows the wall of the restricted vessel. The blue/grey raised structures are the nuclei of activated endothelial cells that form the blood vessel wall. The small green structures are microparticles (small membrane-bound particles released by inflammatory cells), which have major roles in inflammation, vascular function, and coagulation. The round pink structures are platelets (cells that control blood clotting), which also play a role in inflammation and coagulation. Finally, the yellow spherical structure is a lymphocyte, which has been recruited to this site of vascular injury. 

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