EMBOLUS

embolus

(noun) an abnormal particle (e.g. an air bubble or part of a clot) circulating in the blood

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

embolus (plural emboli or emboluses)

(pathology) An obstruction causing an embolism: a blood clot, air bubble or other matter carried by the bloodstream and causing a blockage or occlusion of a blood vessel.

(zoology) The structure on the end of the palp of male arachnids which contains the opening to the ejaculatory duct.

Source: Wiktionary

Em"bo*lus, n.; pl. Emboli. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Emblem.]

1. Something inserted, as a wedge; the piston or sucker of a pump or syringe.

2. (Med.)

Definition: A plug of some substance lodged in a blood vessel, being brought thither by the blood current. It consists most frequently of a clot of fibrin, a detached shred of a morbid growth, a globule of fat, or a microscopic organism.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition