air embolism

British

noun

the presence in the tissues and blood of a gas, such as air or nitrogen bubbles, caused by an injection of air or, in the case of nitrogen, by an abrupt and substantial reduction in the ambient pressure See decompression sickness

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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air embolism

Partaking in them is not without risk—ozone therapy, for example, has the potential side effect of something called an air embolism, which can lead to a stroke or heart attack.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

This, the prosecution said, caused an air bubble and a blockage in the circulation known as air embolism.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025

The air embolism theory, she said, was "highly speculative".

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025

Chair of the panel, retired medic Dr Shoo Lee, who co-authored a 1989 academic paper on air embolism in babies, said 14 experts had compiled an "impartial evidence-based report".

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2025

The fatal issue may be contributed to by blood entering the air-passages and causing asphyxia, or by air being sucked into the open veins and causing air embolism.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023