Abstract
Summary
A study of 38 normal infants confirms previous work from this laboratory that the plasma prothrombin level is low in early infancy. It is also shown that an additional fall, not previously recognized, occurs between the second and sixth days of life. Evidence is presented to indicate that the rate of thrombin formation during coagulation depends upon convertibility of prothrombin as well as upon the amount of the latter. In newborn infants rapid convertibility of prothrombin compensates for deficient quantity of prothrombin. Evidence also suggests that variations in thromboplastin serve, in some circumstances, to compensate for a deficiency in the amount of prothrombin.
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