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Q10 - The Coagulation Cascade and Vitamin K

Theoretical A Real exam question - full text reproduced under IBO's CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Cardiovascular Physiology

In a classic experiment (1935) by the Danish Nobel laureate H. Dam, chickens that were fed a lipid-depleted diet developed hemorrhage and started bleeding within a couple of weeks, because their uptake of vitamin K was inhibited. The bleeding may be stopped by adding vitamin K to the food (Fig.). The blood coagulation cascade. Several of the pathways involved in coagulation are omitted for reasons of simplification. +, positive regulation; a, active form of compound.

Figure 1. Figure 1.

Using the information and data, determine which of the statements are true or which are false.

A. A mutation called Factor V Leiden causes patients to produce a highly active form of factor V (Va in Fig.), therefore there is an increased risk of embolism
B. Bone-marrow insufficiency leads to increased coagulation
C. A lipid-rich diet may promote coagulation
D. People, suffering from a high risk of embolism, may be treated with heparin (antithrombin activator)
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Question reproduced from IBO 2015, Theoretical Exam A, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 - attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF · Community solutions (unofficial)