What does embolism mean?
An embolism is the blockage of a blood vessel caused by an embolus — a piece of material such as a blood clot, air bubble, fat globule, or clump of cells that has traveled through the bloodstream and lodged somewhere it cannot pass. The most familiar and dangerous form is the pulmonary embolism, in which a clot, often dislodged from a deep vein in the leg, blocks an artery supplying the lungs; this is a medical emergency that can be rapidly fatal. Other varieties include air and fat embolisms, typically associated with trauma or surgery. The word comes ultimately from the Greek emballein, 'to throw in,' reflecting the idea of something inserted into circulation. Strictly clinical in register, embolism appears mainly in medical writing and health reporting, and it pairs frequently with words like pulmonary, arterial, and risk. Understanding the term matters because its symptoms — sudden breathlessness, chest pain — demand immediate attention.
nounThe sudden blockage of a blood vessel by an embolus — a clot, air bubble, fat globule, or other material carried in the bloodstream from elsewhere in the body.
- The obstruction of a blood vessel by an embolus (clot, air bubble, fat, or other matter) transported by the bloodstream.
- In rhetoric: the insertion of one or more words between elements of a sentence (a rare, technical sense).
"The surgeon warned that a pulmonary embolism can be fatal if not treated within hours."
"She was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism after the long-haul flight."
"An air embolism is a rare but serious complication of certain surgical procedures."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple blockage events or multiple instances across patients or vessels.
"Repeated pulmonary embolisms left her with permanently reduced lung function."
The word 'embolism' comes from the Greek for 'interpolation' — as if your bloodstream had suddenly inserted something that absolutely did not belong there.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of embolism
Embolism derives from the Greek embolos, meaning 'a plug' or 'stopper,' from emballein, 'to throw in' or 'insert' (en- 'in' plus ballein 'to throw'). Late Latin adopted embolismus before the word passed into English in the early modern period. Its Greek root also gives us related terms such as embolus, the name for the obstructing particle itself, and the adjective embolic. In ancient Greek rhetoric, embolismos referred to the insertion of extra words into a sentence — a sense now largely obsolete.
Related word forms
How embolism is actually used
"Embolism" is almost exclusively a medical term, used in clinical and formal contexts; lay readers most often encounter it in the phrase "pulmonary embolism." The plural is "embolisms." It is not used figuratively in everyday speech.
Easily confused with embolism
An embolus is the obstructing object itself (the clot or bubble), while an embolism is the event or condition of the vessel being blocked by it.
Thrombosis is the formation of a clot at the site where it blocks a vessel, whereas an embolism occurs when material travels through the bloodstream and lodges somewhere else.