In medicine, an embolism (plural embolisms; from the Greek ἐμβολισμός "insertion") occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "clot, lit. ram") migrates from one part of the body (through circulation) and causes a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body. The term was coined in 1848 by Rudolph Carl Virchow. This is in contrast with a thrombus, or clot, which forms at the blockage point with...
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In medicine, an embolism (plural embolisms; from the Greek ἐμβολισμός "insertion") occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "clot, lit. ram") migrates from one part of the body (through circulation) and causes a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body. The term was coined in 1848 by Rudolph Carl Virchow. This is in contrast with a thrombus, or clot, which forms at the blockage point within a blood vessel and is not carried from somewhere else.
There are different types of emboli, some of which are listed below.
They can be classified based on the embolic material:
The pathway of the embolus can be one of three types:
In anterograde embolism, the movement of emboli is in the direction of blood flow. In retrograde embolism, however, the emboli move in opposition to the blood flow direction; this is usually significant only in blood vessels with low pressure (veins) or with emboli of high weight. In paradoxical embolism, also...
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