Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun, plural em·bo·li [em-buh-lahy] /ˈɛm bəˌlaɪ/. Pathology.
- undissolved material carried by the blood and impacted in some part of the vascular system, as thrombi or fragments of thrombi, tissue fragments, clumps of bacteria, protozoan parasites, fat globules, or gas bubbles.
noun plural -li (-ˌlaɪ)
- material, such as part of a blood clot or an air bubble, that is transported by the blood stream until it becomes lodged within a small vessel and impedes the circulationCompare thrombus
1660s, “stopper, wedge,” from Latin embolus “piston of a pump,” from Greek embolos “peg, stopper; anything pointed so as to be easily thrust in,” also “a tongue (of land), beak (of a ship),” from emballein (see emblem). Medical sense is from 1866. Related: Embolic.
n. pl. em•bo•li (-lī′)
- A mass, such as an air bubble, detached blood clot, or foreign body, that travels in the bloodstream and lodges in a blood vessel, thus serving to obstruct or occlude such a vessel.
Plural emboli (ĕm′bə-lī)
- See embolism.