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Glite Dictionary
atelectatic

atelectatic

9.9
A part of a lung that is collapsed and cannot fill with air
  • adjective
  • /ˌætəˈlɛktætɪk/
  • Specialized
: atelectásico
  • The doctor explained that the patient's atelectatic lung area needed immediate attention to improve breathing.

Examples

  • During the examination, the physician noted the atelectatic regions in the patient's chest X-ray.

  • The athlete struggled to recover from the atelectatic condition of his lung after the severe respiratory infection.

  • The tympanic membrane was atelectatic and was marked by coexisting atrophy and perforation in the inferior quadrants.

    Academic text (2001)

Surface Forms

atelectatic positive

Morphology

atelectatic = atelectasis (transparent) = atelectasis + ic

A straightforward adjectival formation from the noun 'atelectasis' using the productive suffix '-ic' meaning 'relating to'.

Etymology

The word atelectatic comes from Greek parts a- 'not' and -ectasis 'expansion'. So an atelectatic area of the lung is one that is not fully expanded and is partly collapsed.