EMBOLISM

a plug; a blocking of a | blood ve el by a substance carried by | the blood-stream from some other part of the circulation. The importance of this condition depends on the source of the plug and its nature, whether it contains infective bacilli, which will cause infective changes at the seat of the plug, or simply acts as a mechanical blocking of the circulation. Both of these are serious, for when the EH. lodges in the brain, it may produce paralysis, either with a slow onset or a sudden one. — Emboli are apt to occur in septic conditions, and are characteristic of pyaemia, a condition in which pus-forming germs are found in the blood. Sudden paralysis of the brain is known as apoplecy. The E. may originate from the heart, even in cases in which the victim is unaware of having any cardiac affection.