Library · Disease
Pulmonary embolism
Make it clearer
A pulmonary embolism is a plug in an artery of the lung, and what plugs it most often is a blood clot. The important part is that the clot usually comes from somewhere else.
It usually forms far away, in one of the deep veins, especially in the thigh or the pelvis; that is called deep vein thrombosis. A piece breaks off, enters the bloodstream and travels to the lung, and there it lodges: a plug that breaks loose where it formed and stops farther downstream. That is why a pulmonary embolism and a clot in the leg are two chapters of the same story.
Less often, what blocks the artery is not a clot but something else that got into the circulation: air bubbles, fat droplets, amniotic fluid, or clumps of parasites or tumor cells.
In brief
A pulmonary embolism is a blockage of an artery in the lung, and the most common cause is a blood clot.
The clot most often forms in a deep vein of the thigh or the pelvis, breaks loose and travels through the blood to the lung, where it lodges.
A plug that breaks loose where it formed and stops farther downstream.
Less often, the blockage is made of air bubbles, fat droplets, amniotic fluid, or clumps of parasites or tumor cells.
Sources (2)
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of MedicinePulmonary embolus
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstitutePulmonary Embolism (PE)
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated