A highly acidic mucopolysaccharide formed of equal parts of sulfated D-glucosamine and D-glucuronic acid with sulfaminic bridges. The molecular weight ranges from six to twenty thousand. Heparin occurs in and is obtained from liver, lung, mast cells, etc., of vertebrates. Its function is unknown, but it is used to prevent blood clotting in vivo and vitro, in the form of many different salts.
Constituent composed of protein and phospholipid that is widely distributed in many tissues. It serves as a cofactor with factor VIIa to activate factor X in the extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation.