In medical jurisprudence . The mechanical obstruction of au artery orcapillary by some body traveling in the blood current, as, a blood-clot (embolus), aglobule of fat, or an air-bubble.Embolism is to be distinguished from “thrombosis,” a thrombus being a clot of bloodformed in the heart or a blood vessel in consequence of some impediment of thecirculation from pathological causes, as distinguished from mechanical causes, forexample, an alteration of the blood or walls of the blood vessels. When embolismoccurs in the brain (called “cerebral embolism”) there is more or less coagulation of theblood in the surrounding parts, and there may be apoplectic shock or paralysis of thebrain, and its functional activity may be so far disturbed as to cause entire or partialinsanity. See Cundall v. Haswell, 23 R. I. 508. 51 Atl. 426.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
