Ace Your Scalpel Skills with the MRCS Practice Exam 2025 – Slice Through to Success!

The common pathway of the coagulation cascade is critical for the formation of a stable fibrin clot, and it primarily involves the activation of specific coagulation factors that play a central role in the coagulation process.

The correct factors involved in this common pathway are factor 2 (prothrombin), factor 5 (proaccelerin), and factor 10 (prothrombinase). Specifically, factor 2 is converted to thrombin, which is essential for converting fibrinogen (factor 1) into fibrin strands, which then form a stable clot. Factor 5 acts as a cofactor for the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin by factor 10, which signifies the crucial interaction within this pathway.

While the presence of other factors such as factor 1 (fibrinogen) is important for clot formation, it does not directly participate in the common pathway’s activation. Therefore, focusing strictly on the factors involved directly in the common pathway leads to the selection of factor 2, factor 5, and factor 10 as the key components.

The other choices include various combinations of factors that either do not belong exclusively to the common pathway or are involved in separate pathways of coagulation. For instance, factors