vitamin K deficiency

pathology

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June 17, 2026

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Vitamin K deficiency impairs the synthesis of essential blood-clotting proteins like prothrombin, factor X, factor IX, and factor VII. This deficiency can arise from conditions that hinder vitamin K absorption, such as obstructive jaundice, chronic diarrhea, or the use of certain antibiotics.1

A significant consequence is hemorrhagic disease of the newborn, which can be prevented by administering vitamin K to infants shortly after birth. In adults, vitamin K deficiency is less common but can occur with impaired fat absorption or liver disease. Overdoses of anticoagulant drugs like warfarin can also lead to a deficiency in vitamin K-dependent clotting proteins, causing a serious bleeding tendency.12

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nutritional disease
Vitamin K
Vitamin K deficiency causes impaired clotting of the blood and internal bleeding, even without injury. Due to poor transport of vitamin K across the placenta, newborn infants in developed countries are routinely given the vitamin intramuscularly or orally within six hours of birth to protect…
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Vitamin K deficiency causes impaired clotting of the blood and internal bleeding, even without injury. Due to poor transport of vitamin K across the placenta, newborn infants in developed countries are routinely given the vitamin intramuscularly or orally within six hours of birth to protect…
Read More

hypoprothrombinemia
…associated with a lack of vitamin K, which is necessary for the synthesis of prothrombin in the liver cells. In adults the condition occurs most commonly in cases of obstructive jaundice, in which the flow of bile to the bowel is interrupted—bile being necessary for the intestinal absorption of vitamin…
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…associated with a lack of vitamin K, which is necessary for the synthesis of prothrombin in the liver cells. In adults the condition occurs most commonly in cases of obstructive jaundice, in which the flow of bile to the bowel is interrupted—bile being necessary for the intestinal absorption of vitamin…
Read More

blood disease
Vitamin K deficiency
Vitamin K deficiency leads to a deficiency of the proteins that require vitamin K for their synthesis, including prothrombin, factor X, factor IX, and factor VII. Vitamin K deficiency is associated with obstructive jaundice, in which the flow of bile into the…
Read More
Vitamin K deficiency leads to a deficiency of the proteins that require vitamin K for their synthesis, including prothrombin, factor X, factor IX, and factor VII. Vitamin K deficiency is associated with obstructive jaundice, in which the flow of bile into the…
Read More