Embolus vs. Thrombus — What's the Difference?

An embolus (; plural emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "wedge", "plug") is an unattached mass that travels through the bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus occludes a blood vessel, it is called an embolism or embolic event.

A thrombus, colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cross-linked fibrin protein.

A mass, such as an air bubble, a detached blood clot, or a foreign body, that travels through the bloodstream and lodges so as to obstruct or occlude a blood vessel.

A fibrinous clot formed in a blood vessel or chamber of the heart.

(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.

A blood clot formed from platelets and other elements that forms in a blood vessel in a living organism, and causes thrombosis or obstruction of the vessel at its point of formation or travel to other areas of the body.

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

A clot of blood formed of a passage of a vessel and remaining at the site of coagulation.

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

A blood clot formed within a blood vessel and remaining attached to its place of origin

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.

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