PULMONARY EMBOLISM

Sudden closure of a pulmonary artery or one of its branches by a bloodborne clot or foreign material that plugs the vessel. Pulmonary embolus: A blood clot within the lung's pulmonary artery. An embolus causes an embolism. In this case, the embolus, a clot or foreign material, has been carried through the blood into the pulmonary artery or one of its branches, plugging the vessel. (Embolus is from the Greek embolos for plug or wedge)