Question

A blood clot that forms along the wall of a blood vessel is called a thrombus. An embolus is a piece of a thrombus that breaks off and flows through the blood until it gets stuck in a small blood vessel downstream from the original thrombus.
(a) What pathway an embolus that broke off from the thrombus in the femoral artery would take (assuming it gets stuck in arterioles before it reaches capillary beds)?
(b) What pathway the embolus that broke off from a thrombus in the femoral vein would take?

Answer 1

Answer:

The embolus that broke off in the femoral artery can enter Profunda femoris or any of the superficial or deep branches of the femoral artery. It would then clog into any of the arterioles of the lower limb which are distal to it.

B. The embolus which broke off in the femoral vein would travel along the following path:

Femoral vein

External iliac vein

Common iliac vein

Inferior vena cava

Right atrium

Right ventricle

Pulmonary artery

Pulmonary arterioles.