An apparatus and method is provided for dispensing coil emboli one at a time in a controlled and reliable manner during surgery to embolize several blood vessels or the like in a body. The apparatus includes a magazine that is movable within a dispenser housing to position each of the embolus cartridges contained in the magazine one at a time at a dispensing station on command. A stream of pressurized fluid is injected or a guide wire is inserted into the embolus cartridge held in the dispensing station to dislodge an embolus contained therein and discharge it into an embolus-delivery catheter coupled to the dispenser housing. Afterwards, the magazine is moved within the dispenser housing to remove the just-emptied embolus cartridge from the dispensing station and load a fresh embolus cartridge into the dispensing station.