The Exception Handler element defines the group of operations to carry out when an exception occurs. In an Activity diagram, the protected element can contain a set of operations and is linked to the exception handler via an Interrupt Flow connector. Any defined error contained within an element's parts can trigger the flow to move to an exception.
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OMG UML Specification
The OMG UML specification (UML Superstructure Specification, v2.0, p. 8) states:
"A special kind of signal, typically used to signal fault situations. The sender of the exception aborts execution and execution resumes with the receiver of the exception, which may be the sender itself. The receiver of an exception is determined implicitly by the interaction sequence during execution; it is not explicitly specified."