What is a blood clot?

Blood clot, DVT and venous thromboembolism are close neighbors in search results. This page defines the plain term first and then shows how the others relate to it.

The definition

medlineplus.gov states: "A blood clot is a mass of blood that forms when platelets, proteins, and cells in the blood stick together."

That definition covers any clot, wherever it forms. It names no vessel and no body part.

How the look-alikes narrow it

The Cleveland Clinic overview of deep vein thrombosis, the NHLBI page on venous thromboembolism treatment and the MedlinePlus encyclopedia entry on blood clots each use a different name. The broad definition above is the starting point for reading those pages.

The follow-up question

Defining a clot raises the question of what a clot feels like. A separate page here covers symptoms, and readers around Tinley Park can use it before deciding whether to call a vascular clinic.