What Is The Difference Between A Thrombus And An Embolus

Heparin a drug active discovered one hundred years ago is the anti coagulant of choice most used to prevent and treat thrombosis among other indications.

The lodging of the embolus in the blood vessel happens if the diameter of the blood vessel is too tiny for it to pass through. A thrombus can detach travel through the blood stream toward other organs such as the lungs or brain producing a serious and potentially fatal complication called an embolism. When a blood clot forms in a blood vessel it is a thrombus. What is the difference between thrombus and embolus.

This is the key difference between thrombus and embolus. An embolus travels until it reaches the tiny blood vessels that are too small to pass through it. Embolism occurs when a piece of a blood clot foreign object or other. If on the other hand this clot travels further into the body it is an embolus.

A mobile or floating clot which often is a fragment of a thrombus. As a result blood flow through the vessel is reduced. An embolus has a free floating mass. On the other hand embolism is when either the entire blood clot or a part of the blood clot is separated from its actual place causing an occlusion at another body part.

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Thrombosis is clot formation while embolism is breaking off small particles from clots fat etc. The term thromboembolus is often used in medicine because most emboli arise from thrombi. The main difference between thrombus and embolus is that thrombus refers to a firm mass of blood clot developed within the circulatory system whereas embolus refers to a piece of thrombus that travels through the blood vessels. With an embolism a piece of a blood clot embolus foreign.

Thrombosis occurs when a thrombus or blood clot develops in a blood vessel and reduces the flow of blood through the vessel. Thrombosis blocks a blood vessel at a narrowed site while emboli may block healthy vessels as well. Embolism and thrombosis are often confusing terms even for health professionals and its definition symptoms and consequences often overlap since both conditions consist of a reduction or blockage of blood flow in the vascular lumen. It is capable of travelling along the bloodstream into a considerable distance from its point of origin.

A thrombus is commonly known as a blood clot that forms due to blood clotting process while an embolus is a piece of a blood clot which is unattached. Overview and key difference 2.