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, a bubble of air or other gas (gas embolism), or foreign material. An embolism can cause partial or total blockage of blood flow in the affected vessel. Such a blockage (a vascular occlusion) may affect a part of the body distant from where the embolus originated. An embolism in which the embolus is a piece of thrombus is called a thromboembolism. Thrombosis, the process of thrombus formation, often leads to thromboembolism.
