ABSTRACT
Embolism, by definition, refers to distant travel of particulate materials generated at a
distance from their ultimate destination. Potential embolic materials can be conveniently
divided into three major groups: (i) substances ordinarily residing within the body’s heart
and blood vessels, (ii) substances introduced from outside of the body, such as air,
bacteria, fungi, and foreign bodies, and (iii) substances within the body but not
normally within the vascular system, such as fat and tumor tissue. Table 1 shows this
distribution.
