Bubbles of air in the transpiration stream of a cutting or cannabis clone – blocks uptake of water and nutrients.
An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. 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.
| Embolism | |
|---|---|
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| Micrograph of embolic material in the artery of a kidney. The kidney was surgically removed because of cancer. H&E stain. | |
| Specialty | Vascular surgery |
An embolism can cause partial or total blockage of blood flow in the affected vessel. 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.
English
Etymology
The term was coined in 1848 by Rudolf Virchow. From Old French embolisme (“intercalation of days in a calendar to correct errors”), from Late Latin embolismus, from Ancient Greek ἐμβολισμός (embolismós, “intercalary”), from ἐμβάλλω (embállō, “to insert, throw in”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɛmbəlɪzəm/
Noun
embolism (plural embolisms)
- (pathology)
