thrombus
Meaning of thrombus: A thrombus is a blood clot that forms inside a blood vessel or the heart and can partly or completely obstruct normal blood flow.
Definition of thrombus
A thrombus is a blood clot that forms within a blood vessel or inside a chamber of the heart, as platelets, clotting proteins, and blood cells stick together at a particular site. It differs from the normal clotting that seals an external wound, since a thrombus forms inside the circulatory system itself.
A thrombus commonly forms when the inner lining of a blood vessel is injured, when blood flow becomes sluggish or stagnant, or when the blood has an increased tendency to clot, conditions that can occur together or separately depending on the underlying cause.
Depending on its size and location, a thrombus can partially or completely block blood flow where it forms, and a fragment can also break loose and travel through the bloodstream, becoming what is then called an embolus, which can lodge in a distant blood vessel and disrupt blood flow there instead.
Used in a sentence
A thrombus was identified within the deep vein of the patient's leg on ultrasound.
Good to know
A thrombus that breaks free and travels through the bloodstream is called an embolus rather than a thrombus, a distinction relevant because an embolus can cause harm far from where it originally formed.
Word origin
Where “thrombus” comes from
Formed from Greek thrombos, meaning clot or lump.