embolism

(ĕm'bə-lĭz'əm)
n.

1. Obstruction or occlusion of a blood vessel by an embolus.
2. An embolus.

[Middle English embolisme, insertion of one or more days in a calendar, from Late Latin embolismus, from Greek embolismos, from emballein, to insert. See emblem.]

embolismic em'bo·lis'mic adj.

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The sudden blocking of an artery or vein by a clot or other substance which has been brought to its place by the blood current. The material carried in the circulation in this process is an embolus. Emboli may be composed of thrombi, fat, air, tumor cells, masses of bacteria or parasites, bone marrow, amniotic fluid, or atheromatous material from the vessel wall. With complete obstruction of a vessel by an embolus an infarct may result. See also Infarction.

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Blockage of a blood vessel caused by a foreign object (embolus) such as a quantity of air or gas, a piece of tissue or tumour, a blood clot (thrombus), or fatty tissue derived from atheroma, in the circulation.

When fragments, usually of blood clot, are let loose in the bloodstream, they lodge in and obstruct the first vessels they encounter which are too narrow for them to pass. Such a fragment is known as an embolus (plural emboli) and the event as embolism. Pieces may break off from a clot (thrombus) which has formed, usually during prolonged immobility, in the deep veins of the legs or pelvis (deep vein thrombosis — DVT). The clots travel to the heart through progressively larger veins, thence from the right side of the heart to the lungs; there they obstruct branches of the pulmonary artery, where the severity of their effects depends on their size and number. Large pulmonary emboli can be fatal; very small ones lodge in microscopic vessels causing some impairment of oxygen intake. Thrombi which form on damaged lining of the left heart valves or of major arteries can release fragments which reach the brain (cerebral embolism) causing a type of stroke. There can also be fat embolism, when particles enter veins from the marrow of fractured bones, or air embolism if air is injected or sucked into an open vein.

— Sheila Jennett

Obstruction of a blood vessel with an embolus, such as fat, a blood clot, or an air bubble.

An obstruction or occlusion of a blood vessel by an air bubble, a detached blood clot, or a foreign body.

The sudden blocking of an artery by a clot of foreign material (embolus) that has been brought to its site of lodgment by the blood current. The obstructing material is most often a blood clot, but may be a fat globule, air bubble, piece of tissue, e.g. degenerated intervertebral disk, or clump of bacteria. It may therefore be the site of origin of a shower of microabscesses or a neoplastic metastasis. See also saddle thrombus, iliac artery thrombosis.

• air e. — air injected accidentally into veins which may cause temporary paralysis or dyspnea, or may be fatal if the embolism occurs in the heart or brain. It has been used as a method of performing euthanasia but is too uncertain and inhumane to be recommended.
• cerebral e. — embolism of a cerebral artery; one of the causes of cerebral vascular accident.
• renal e. — embolism in the kidney causes no observable clinical effect unless it involves a very large area, when toxemia may result and be followed by uremia.

(em′bə-liz-əm)
n

The clogging of a vessel by matter, such as a clot, air, or oil, that is carried by the bloodstream to some point where the lumen of the vessel narrows. This is the opposite of thrombosis, in which the clotting mechanism is organized in situ.

For a list of words related to embolism, see:

• Injuries and Accidents - embolism: obstruction of artery by lodged blood clot, fat, air, or foreign body carried by circulating blood
• Measures and Standards of Time - embolism: insertion of time period to regulate calendar, esp. day added for leap year

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - emboli, tilstopning af blodårer

Nederlands (Dutch)
embolie, bloedklonter, invoeging van extra dagen in de kalender

Français (French)
n. - embolie

Deutsch (German)
n. - Embolie, (Blutgefäßverstopfung durch Fremdkörper)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ημερολογιακή παρεμβολή, (ιατρ.) εμβολή

Italiano (Italian)
embolia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - embolismo (m) (Astron.), embolia (f) (Med.)

Русский (Russian)
закупорка кровеносных сосудов

Español (Spanish)
n. - embolia

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - blodpropp

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
闰, 闰日, 栓塞

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 閏, 閏日, 栓塞

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 색전증

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - うるう日, 塞栓症

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) انسداد وعاء دموي, سدادة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תסחיף, סחיף, קריש-דם, בועת-אוויר בדם‬

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