Serum sickness proteins to form immune complexes. These complexes precipitate, enter the walls of blood vessels, and activate the complement cascade, initiating an inflammatory response and consuming much of the available complement component 3 (C3). The result is a leukocytoclastic vasculitis. This results in hypocomplementemia, a low C3 level in serum. They can also cause more reactions resulting in typical symptoms of serum sickness. Serum sickness can be developed as a result of exposure to antibodies derived from animals. These sera or antitoxins are generally administered to prevent or treat an infection or envenomation. Some of the drugs associated with serum sickness
Blood plasma fractionation Blood plasma fractionation Blood plasma fractionation refers to the general processes of separating the various components of blood plasma, which in turn is a component of blood obtained through blood fractionation. Blood plasma is the liquid component of whole blood, and makes up approximately 55% of the total blood volume. It is composed primarily of water with small amounts of minerals, salts, ions, nutrients, and proteins in solution. In whole blood, red blood cells, leukocytes, and platelets are suspended within the plasma. Plasma contains a large variety of proteins including albumin, immunoglobulins, and clotting proteins such as fibrinogen. Albumin constitutes