INCOAGULABILITY OF INTRAPERITONEAL BLOOD

Intraperitoneal blood from ectopic pregnancies or from peripheral venous blood experimentally injected into the patient's own cul-de-sac was investigated. Blood coagulation parameters revealed diminished or absent fibrinogen, prothrombin, Factor V, and Factor VIII. Fibrinolytic enzyme studies showed that plasminogen and plasmin inhibitor values were identical in peripheral venous blood and intra-abdominal blood samples. Immunochemical reactions against antihuman fibrinogen employing Ouchterlony plates, immunoelectrophoresis, and radial diffusion techniques occasionally revealed small amounts of fibrin breakdown products. The data indicate that a different mechanism exists for the incoagulability of intraperitoneal blood as compared to menstrual blood. Intraperitoneal blood resembles serum after coagulation has occurred, with only occasional evidence of a secondary clot lysis being present. The amount of clotted blood formed in the abdominal cavity is not adequate to explain the amount of serum and it is hypothesized that peristaltic movements of the intestines may defibrinate the intraperitoneal blood. © 1968.