paradoxical embolism

noun

A free-floating mass, located inside blood vessels, that can travel from one site in the blood stream to another. It may be solid (like a blood clot), liquid (like amniotic fluid), or gas (like air).

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Meanings

nounparadoxical embolism (countable and uncountable, plural paradoxical embolisms)

plural paradoxical embolisms

  1. countableuncountablemedicineA free-floating mass, located inside blood vessels, that can travel from one site in the blood stream to another. It may be solid (like a blood clot), liquid (like amniotic fluid), or gas (like air).

Origin

The term was coined by Friedrich Wilhelm Zahn in 1885

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Cite this entry
APA

paradoxical embolism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paradoxical%20embolism

MLA

“paradoxical embolism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paradoxical%20embolism. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paradoxical embolism,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paradoxical%20embolism.

Source: paradoxical embolism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.