MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:Venous thrombosis

Medical Encyclopedia

Venous thrombosis - series: Procedure, part 1

Venous thrombosis - series
Illustrations:

Procedure, part 1

Venous thrombosis can cause swelling and pain of the leg in which it forms. Large clots can also break free and travel to the heart and lungs, where they can cause cardiac arrest and sometimes death. This is called pulmonary embolism.

Update Date: 6/10/2008

Updated by: Sean O. Stitham, MD, private practice in Internal Medicine, Seattle, Washington; and James R. Mason, MD, Oncologist, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Stem Cell Processing Lab, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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