A blood protein that naturally prevents blood clotting by inactivating clotting factors.
From anti- (against) + thrombin (an enzyme that causes clotting), from Greek thrombos (clot) + -in (substance). Discovered in the late 1800s, antithrombin is a crucial natural anticoagulant.
Your body makes antithrombin to keep blood flowing freely—but if you inherit a defective version, you're at risk for dangerous clots; this genetic condition shows how our body's safety systems are just as important as our immune defenses.
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