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Definition of "atelectasis" [atelectasis]

  • Total or partial collapse of the lung. (noun)
  • A congenital condition characterized by the incomplete expansion of the lungs at birth. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "atelectasis" in a sentence
  • "The thought here is that those patients with more edema might benefit more from higher PEEP.Interestingly, in some patients PEEP seems to cause harmful overdistention without eliminating the atelectasis."
  • "Too high a tidal volume or a pressure and we risk various forms of barotrauma and too little of either seems to be associated with atelectasis ,blood shunting and another form of ventilator induced lung damage from forces related to opening and closing of gas exchange units."
  • "With the now commonplace use of low tidal volumes one would expect more micro-atelectasis and it seems reasonable that higher PEEP might be needed to mitigate that tendency."