Embolus

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛmbÉ™lÉ™s/

Origin

From Latin embolus ("piston"), from Ancient Greek ἔμβολος (embolos, "peg, stopper").

Full definition of embolus

Noun

1. (pathology) An obstruction causing an embolism: a blood clot, air bubble or other matter carried by the blood stream and causing a blockage or occlusion of a blood vessel.
2. (zoology) The structure on the end of the palp of male arachnids which contains the opening to the ejaculatory duct.
• 1996, Michael J Roberts, Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe, Collins 1996, p. 22:Those spiders with a simple bulb insert most of this; those with a complex palp insert only the embolus, which in some species is very long ....

Derived terms

• embolic
• embolism