Embolism

An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel.[1] The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule (fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (gas embolism), amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid embolism), or foreign material.

An embolism can cause partial or total blockage of blood flow in the affected vessel.[2] Such a blockage (vascular occlusion) may affect a part of the body distant from the origin of the embolus. An embolism in which the embolus is a piece of thrombus is called a thromboembolism.

An embolism is usually a pathological event, caused by illness or injury. Sometimes it is created intentionally for a therapeutic reason, such as to stop bleeding or to kill a cancerous tumor by stopping its blood supply. Such therapy is called embolization.

## Contents

* 1 Classification
* 1.1 Arterial
* 1.2 Venous
* 1.3 Paradoxical (venous to arterial)
* 1.4 Direction
* 2 Etymology
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Classification

There are different types of embolism, some of which are listed below.

Embolism can be classified based on where it enters the circulation, either in arteries or in veins. Arterial embolism are those that follow and, if not dissolved on the way, lodge in a more distal part of the systemic circulation. Sometimes, multiple classifications apply; for instance a pulmonary embolism is classified as an arterial embolism as well,[3] because the clot follows the pulmonary artery carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart. However, pulmonary embolism is generally classified as a form of venous embolism, because the embolus forms in veins, e.g. deep vein thrombosis.[citation needed]

### Arterial

Arterial embolism can cause occlusion in any part of the body. It is a major cause of infarction (tissue death from blockage of the blood supply).[4]

An embolus lodging in the brain from either the heart or a carotid artery will most likely be the cause of a stroke due to ischemia.[5]

The risk of emboli forming in AF depends on other risk factors such as age, hypertension, diabetes, recent heart failure, or previous stroke. Thrombus formation can also take place within the ventricles, and it occurs in approximately 30% of anterior-wall myocardial infarctions, compared with only 5% of inferior ones. Some other risk factors are poor ejection fraction (<35%), size of infarct, and the presence of AF. In the first three months after infarction, left-ventricle aneurysms have a 10% risk of emboli forming. Patients with prosthetic valves also carry a significant increase in risk of thromboembolism. Risk varies, based on the valve type (bioprosthetic or mechanical); the position (mitral or aortic); and the presence of other factors such as AF, left-ventricular dysfunction, and previous emboli[citation needed].

Emboli often have more serious consequences when they occur in the so-called "end circulation": areas of the body that have no redundant blood supply, such as the brain and heart.[citation needed]

### Venous

Still from a 3D medical animation showing a pulmonary embolism

### Paradoxical (venous to arterial)

Main article: Medicine:Paradoxical embolism

### Direction

* Anterograde
* Retrograde

In anterograde embolism, the movement of emboli is in the direction of blood flow. In retrograde embolism, 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.[citation needed]

## Etymology

"Embolism" is first recorded in English in the 14th century and originally meant "intercalcation" or "insertion of days into a calendar"; it came from the Old French embolisme, with the same meaning, and is ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek prefix ἐν (en), meaning "in", and root βάλλειν (ballein), meaning "to throw". The first recorded use of "embolism" in the specific medical sense is from 1855.[6]

## See also

* Embolectomy

## References

1. ↑ Dorland's (2012). Dowland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (32nd ed.). Elsevier. p. 606. ISBN 978-1-4160-6257-8.
2. ↑ Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2007
3. ↑ MedlinePlus > Arterial embolism Sean O. Stitham, MD and David C. Dugdale III, MD. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD. Reviewed last on: 5/8/2008. Alternative link: [1]
4. ↑ MDGuidelines > Arterial Embolism And Thrombosis From The Medical Disability Advisor by Presley Reed, MD. Retrieved on April 30, 2010
5. ↑ "A Neurosurgeon's Guide to Stroke Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention" (in en). https://www.aans.org/.
6. ↑ "Embolism". https://www.etymonline.com/word/embolism.

## External links

Classification|

* ICD-10: I74, I82, O88, T79.0-T79.1
* ICD-9-CM: 444.9
* MeSH: D004617
* DiseasesDB: 18165
* SNOMED CT: 414086009

|

* MR of Fat Embolism Brain Injury from Fat Embolism

* v
* t
* e

Cardiovascular disease (vessels) (I70–I99, 440–456)

Arteries, arterioles
and capillaries|

| Inflammation|

* Arteritis
* Aortitis
* Buerger's disease

|

Peripheral artery disease|

| Arteriosclerosis|

* Atherosclerosis
* Foam cell
* Fatty streak
* Atheroma
* Intermittent claudication
* Critical limb ischemia

* Monckeberg's arteriosclerosis
* Arteriolosclerosis
* Hyaline
* Hyperplastic
* Cholesterol
* LDL
* Oxycholesterol
* Trans fat

|

Stenosis|

* Carotid artery stenosis
* Renal artery stenosis

Other|

* Aortoiliac occlusive disease
* Degos disease
* Erythromelalgia
* Fibromuscular dysplasia
* Raynaud's phenomenon

Aneurysm / dissection /
pseudoaneurysm|

* torso: Aortic aneurysm
* Abdominal aortic aneurysm
* Thoracic aortic aneurysm
* Aneurysm of sinus of Valsalva
* Aortic dissection
* Aortic rupture
* Coronary artery aneurysm
* head / neck
* Intracranial aneurysm
* Intracranial berry aneurysm
* Carotid artery dissection
* Vertebral artery dissection
* Familial aortic dissection

Vascular malformation|

* Arteriovenous fistula
* Arteriovenous malformation
* Telangiectasia
* Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

Vascular nevus|

* Cherry hemangioma
* Halo nevus
* Spider angioma

Veins|

| Inflammation|

* Phlebitis

|

Venous thrombosis /
Thrombophlebitis|

* primarily lower limb
* Deep vein thrombosis
* abdomen
* Hepatic veno-occlusive disease
* Budd–Chiari syndrome
* May–Thurner syndrome
* Portal vein thrombosis
* Renal vein thrombosis
* upper limb / torso
* Mondor's disease
* Paget–Schroetter disease
* head
* Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis
* Post-thrombotic syndrome

Varicose veins|

* Gastric varices
* Portacaval anastomosis
* Caput medusae
* Esophageal varices
* Hemorrhoid
* Varicocele

Other|

* Chronic venous insufficiency
* Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency
* Superior vena cava syndrome
* Inferior vena cava syndrome
* Venous ulcer

Arteries or veins|

* Angiopathy
* Macroangiopathy
* Microangiopathy
* Embolism
* Pulmonary embolism
* Cholesterol embolism
* Paradoxical embolism
* Thrombosis
* Vasculitis

Blood pressure|

| Hypertension|

* Hypertensive heart disease
* Hypertensive emergency
* Hypertensive nephropathy
* Essential hypertension
* Secondary hypertension
* Renovascular hypertension
* Benign hypertension
* Pulmonary hypertension
* Systolic hypertension
* White coat hypertension

|

Hypotension|

* Orthostatic hypotension

* v
* t
* e

Pathology of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O, 630–679)

Pregnancy|

| Pregnancy with
abortive outcome|

* Abortion
* Ectopic pregnancy
* Abdominal
* Cervical
* Interstitial
* Ovarian
* Heterotopic
* Fetal resorption
* Molar pregnancy
* Miscarriage
* Stillbirth

|

Oedema, proteinuria and
hypertensive disorders|

* Gestational hypertension
* Pre-eclampsia
* HELLP syndrome
* Eclampsia

Other, predominantly
related to pregnancy|

| Digestive system|

* Acute fatty liver of pregnancy
* Gestational diabetes
* Hepatitis E
* Hyperemesis gravidarum
* Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

|

Integumentary system /
dermatoses of pregnancy|

* Gestational pemphigoid
* Impetigo herpetiformis
* Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy
* Linea nigra
* Prurigo gestationis
* Pruritic folliculitis of pregnancy
* Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP)
* Striae gravidarum

Nervous system|

* Chorea gravidarum

Blood|

* Gestational thrombocytopenia
* Pregnancy-induced hypercoagulability

Maternal care related to the
fetus and amniotic cavity|

* amniotic fluid
* Oligohydramnios
* Polyhydramnios
* Braxton Hicks contractions
* [[Biology:Chorchorion]] / amnion
* Amniotic band syndrome
* Chorioamnionitis
* Chorionic hematoma
* Monoamniotic twins
* Premature rupture of membranes
* Obstetrical bleeding
* Antepartum
* placenta
* Circumvallate placenta
* Monochorionic twins
* Placenta accreta
* Placenta praevia
* Placental abruption
* Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome

Labor|

* Amniotic fluid embolism
* Cephalopelvic disproportion
* Dystocia
* Shoulder dystocia
* Fetal distress
* Locked twins
* Obstetrical bleeding
* Postpartum
* Pain management during childbirth
* placenta
* Placenta accreta
* Preterm birth
* Postmature birth
* Umbilical cord prolapse
* Uterine inversion
* Uterine rupture
* Vasa praevia

Puerperal|

* Breastfeeding difficulties
* Low milk supply
* Cracked nipples
* Breast engorgement
* Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder
* Diastasis symphysis pubis
* Postpartum bleeding
* Peripartum cardiomyopathy
* Postpartum depression
* Postpartum psychosis
* Postpartum thyroiditis
* Puerperal fever
* Puerperal mastitis

Other|

* Concomitant conditions
* Diabetes mellitus
* Systemic lupus erythematosus
* Thyroid disorders
* Maternal death
* Sexual activity during pregnancy

* Category

Template:Certain early complications of trauma

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