thrombus
Americannoun
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thrombi
plural
noun
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thrombi
plural
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A clot consisting of fibrin, platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells that forms in a blood vessel or in a chamber of the heart and can obstruct blood flow. The rupture of atherosclerotic plaques can cause arterial thrombosis (the formation of thrombi), while tissue injury, decreased movement, oral contraceptives, prosthetic heart valves, and various metabolic disorders increase the risk for venous thrombosis. A thrombus in a coronary artery can cause a heart attack.
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Compare embolus
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of thrombus
1685–95; < New Latin < Greek thrómbos clot, lump
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
An increase in LDH is thought to indicate hemolysis caused by thrombus formation.
From Forbes ● Nov. 27, 2013
When a portion of a thrombus breaks free from the vessel wall and enters the circulation, it is referred to as an embolus.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
In a large vessel, a thrombus will adhere to the vessel wall and decrease the flow of blood, and is referred to as a mural thrombus.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
The danger then is that the clot, or thrombus, will begin to travel toward the heart and lungs.
From Time Magazine Archive
He knew about as much as was known about the anatomy of the brain and the symptoms and severities of lesion and thrombus.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Montgomery notes that the kidneys developed tiny blood clots called fibrin thrombi, but that this may be the result of the patient’s condition.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 20, 2022
However, some strokes are not caused by thrombi, but by hemorrhage.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
A thrombolytic agent is a medication that promotes the breakup of thrombi.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
So we have a greater tendency to make thrombi that can occlude the coronary vessels.
From Time Magazine Archive
The vascularization of thrombi surrounded by unbroken walls is most likely to result from the extension into the thickened intima of new-formed branches of the vasa vasorum.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
