Embolization

Embolization refers to any of several minimally invasive therapeutic procedures in which an interventional radiologist injects substances (such as coils, beads, glue, foam, or chemical agents) through a catheter into a blood vessel to intentionally block it, either permanently or temporarily[1][2][4][7][8]. This procedure is employed to restrict blood flow to a specific region, most often to treat tumors, vascular malformations, aneurysms, or severe bleeding, as an alternative or adjunct to surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy[1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]. The agents used are chosen based on the condition being treated and may include metallic coils, polyvinyl alcohol particles, microspheres, gel foam, or liquid adhesives[4][8]. Embolization is a technique, not a molecular or protein target. Summary: "Embolization" is not a molecule, receptor, or therapeutic target, but a clinical procedure, so it is fundamentally incorrect as an input for a target-centric drug discovery or molecular target ontology. It should not be used as an entity in a database structured for molecular targets.