occlusion

/əˈkluʒən/

Other forms: occlusions

Occlusion is either the act of blocking something or a specific blockage. There can be occlusions blocking the street or your arteries. When dentists say occlusion, they’re talking about what your teeth look like when your mouth is closed.

An occlusion blocks anything that flows, like cars, people, water, or blood. You can say there's occlusion if a pipe is clogged. If you find out a golf ball was in the pipe, the ball was an occlusion. This word applies to things that block and the act of blocking. People have heart attacks when there's occlusion in their arteries. An overturned truck would be an occlusion on the highway. Occlusions are in the way.

Definitions of occlusion

1. noun

   the act of blocking
   synonyms: blockage, closure

   types:

   implosion

   the initial occluded phase of a stop consonant

   type of:

   obstruction

   the act of obstructing
2. noun

   closure or blockage (as of a blood vessel)
   types:

   laryngospasm

   a closure of the larynx that blocks the passage of air to the lungs

   embolism

   occlusion of a blood vessel by an embolus (a loose clot or air bubble or other particle)

   thromboembolism

   occlusion of a blood vessel by an embolus that has broken away from a thrombus

   thrombosis

   the formation or presence of a thrombus (a clot of coagulated blood attached at the site of its formation) in a blood vessel

   coronary occlusion

   occlusion of a coronary artery caused either by progressive atherosclerosis or by a blood clot

   aeroembolism, air embolism, gas embolism

   obstruction of the circulatory system caused by an air bubble as, e.g., accidentally during surgery or hypodermic injection or as a complication from scuba diving

   fat embolism

   serious condition in which fat blocks an artery; fat can enter the blood stream after a long bone is fractured or if adipose tissue is injured or as a result of a fatty liver

   pulmonary embolism

   blockage of the pulmonary artery by foreign matter or by a blood clot

   cerebral thrombosis

   a blood clot in a cerebral artery or vein

   coronary, coronary thrombosis

   obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery by a blood clot (thrombus)

   milk leg, phlegmasia alba dolens, white leg

   painful thrombosis of the femoral vein in the leg following childbirth

   phlebothrombosis, venous thrombosis

   thrombosis of a vein without prior inflammation of the vein; associated with sluggish blood flow (as in prolonged bedrest or pregnancy or surgery) or with rapid coagulation of the blood

   type of:

   attack

   a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition
3. noun

   an obstruction in a pipe or tube
   synonyms: block, blockage, closure, stop, stoppage

   types:

   breech closer, breechblock

   a metal block in breech-loading firearms that is withdrawn to insert a cartridge and replaced to close the breech before firing

   plug, stopper, stopple

   blockage consisting of an object designed to fill a hole tightly

   vapor lock, vapour lock

   a stoppage in a pipeline caused by gas bubbles (especially a stoppage that develops in hot weather in an internal-combustion engine when fuel in the gas line boils and forms bubbles that block the flow of gasoline to the carburetor)

   bung, spile

   a plug used to close a hole in a barrel or flask

   bottle cork, cork

   the plug in the mouth of a bottle (especially a wine bottle)

   drainplug

   a removable plug for holding water in a tub or basin

   earplug

   a plug of cotton, wax, or rubber that is fitted into the ear canal for protection against the entry of water or loud noise

   fipple

   a wooden plug forming a flue pipe (as the mouthpiece of a recorder)

   tampion, tompion

   plug for the muzzle of a gun to keep out dust and moisture

   tampon

   plug of cotton or other absorbent material; inserted into wound or body cavity to absorb exuded fluids (especially blood)

   spigot, tap

   a plug for a bunghole in a cask

   type of:

   impediment, impedimenta, obstructer, obstruction, obstructor

   any structure that makes progress difficult
4. noun

   (dentistry) the normal spatial relation of the teeth when the jaws are closed
   type of:

   position, spatial relation

   the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated
5. noun

   (meteorology) a composite front when colder air surrounds a mass of warm air and forces it aloft
   synonyms: occluded front

   type of:

   front

   (meteorology) the atmospheric phenomenon created at the boundary between two different air masses