Embolism: Definition, Classification of Solid, Liquid and Gaseous Emboli, Their Pathways and the Types of Infarction

A pathology note on embolism as the partial or complete obstruction of part of the cardiovascular system by a mass carried in the circulation, an embolus being a detached intravascular solid, liquid or gaseous mass carried by the blood to a site distant from its origin, with ninety per cent of emboli thromboembolic. It classifies them by their content - detached thrombi, atheromatous material, tumour cell clumps, tissue fragments, parasites and bacterial clumps - and takes the pathways of embolism through the venous, arterial and cross-over routes, the organs affected and the infarcts they produce, then the specific types: fat embolism from fracture of the long bones, soft tissue trauma and burns with its syndrome of pulmonary insufficiency, neurologic symptoms, anaemia and thrombocytopenia, and amniotic fluid embolism as an uncommon but highly fatal complication of labour.