A 2-year-old boy bleeds excessively from minor injuries and has previously had bleeding gums. The maternal grandfather has a bleeding disorder. The child's physical examination shows slight tenderness of his knee with fluid accumulation in the knee joint. You suspect this patient is deficient in which coagulation factor?
Prothrombin activator
Factor II
Factor VIII
Factor X
A young man with a bleeding disorder and a history of bleeding disorders in the males of his family would lead one to suspect hemophilia A (a deficiency of factor VIII.) The physical examination suggests bleeding into the knee joint, which is frequently seen in hemophilia A.
Blood Physiology