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Glite Dictionary
pneumothorax

pneumothorax

12 9.6
Air in the space between a lung and chest wall that makes the lung collapse
  • noun
  • /ˌnjuːməˈθɔræks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : neumotórax
  • The emergency team rushed the patient to surgery to treat the pneumothorax caused by a knife wound.
  • spontaneous pneumothorax
  • recurrent pneumothorax
  • pneumothorax or pleural effusion

OK, basically tension pneumothorax, sucking chest wound, whatever you want to call it, slap these on.

Examples

  • Chest X-ray showed a pneumothorax on the base and top of the left lung, with little pleural effusion.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Chest X-ray again showed a large left pneumothorax.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The lungs were fully expanded, and no pneumothorax was seen.

    Academic text (2003)

  • There's a pneumothorax in the left chest, but that was taken care of by the chest tube.

    Of Things Past (2023)

  • Recovery was uneventful, and the patient was discharged without any signs of pneumothorax 5 days after she was admitted.

    Academic text (2007)

  • No evidence of pneumothorax or pleural effusion was seen.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Chest X-ray showed a new left pneumothorax, this time with evident subcutaneous emphysema.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The presence of pneumothorax or hemothorax found by thoracocentesis indicates injuries to the lungs and pleura.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The doctor explained that the patient had a pneumothorax, which meant air was trapped in the chest cavity.

  • After the accident, the X-ray revealed a pneumothorax in the right lung, leading to a collapsed lung.

How Severe

tension pneumo
  • Specialized
3 8.6
pneumothorax
  • Specialized
12 9.6

Surface Forms

pneumothorax singular
pneumothoraces plural

Morphology

pneumothorax = thorax (opaque) = pneumo + thorax

The term is a technical medical compound using the Greek combining form 'pneumo-' which is not a standalone English word, so an average B1 learner cannot reliably derive the meaning from the base.

Etymology

Pneumothorax comes from Greek parts pneumo- meaning 'air' or 'breath' and -thorax meaning 'chest'. So the word literally says 'air in the chest', which helps you remember that a pneumothorax is when air gets into the space around the lung and can make the lung collapse.