embolization

noun

em·​bo·​li·​za·​tion ˌem-bə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

: the process or state in which a blood vessel or organ is obstructed by the lodgment of a material mass (such as an embolus)

Examples of embolization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If these measures don't help, a procedure called varicocele embolization can redirect blood flow around the obstruction by sealing off blood vessels with heat or a sclerosing agent. —Josephine Hessert, Verywell Health, 1 Dec. 2024

Other nonsurgical procedures are available, including varicocele embolization and hydrocele aspiration with sclerotherapy. —Josephine Hessert, Verywell Health, 1 Dec. 2024

Doctors recommended drilling burr holes into the skull to relieve pressure, and middle meningeal artery embolization, which blocks blood flow to the area, the suit states. —Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 4 Mar. 2024

Uterine artery embolization Surgical treatment options like uterine artery embolization or uterine fibroid embolization target the fibroids themselves by cutting off their blood supply. —Macaela MacKenzie, Glamour, 17 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

embolization

noun

em·​bo·​li·​za·​tion

variants or British embolisation

ˌem-bə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

1

: the process by which or state in which a blood vessel or organ is obstructed by the lodgment of a material mass (as an embolus)

pulmonary embolization

embolization of a thrombus

2

: an operation in which pellets are introduced into the circulatory system in order to induce embolization in specific abnormal blood vessels