Vitamin K Deficiency Health Article

KEY TERMS

Fat-soluble vitamin—Fat-soluble vitamins can be dissolved in oil or in melted fat.

Hemorrhage—Bleeding that continues for an abnormally long period of time.

Prothrombin—Prothrombin is a blood-clotting protein. Injury to a blood vessel produces a signal which triggers the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin. Thrombin is a protein which plays a central role in provoking the assembly of other proteins to form the blood clot.

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)—The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are quantities of nutrients in the diet that are required to maintain good health in people. RDAs are established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, and may be revised every few years. A separate RDA value exists for each nutrient. The RDA values refer to the amount of nutrient expected to maintain good health in people. The actual amounts of each nutrient required to maintain good health in specific individuals differ from person to person.

Water-soluble vitamins—Water-soluble vitamins can be dissolved in water or juice.