hyaline membrane disease
- noun
- /ˈhaɪəˌlaɪn ˈmɛmˌbeɹn dɪˈziːz/
- Archaic
:
enfermedad de la membrana hialina
- Doctors administered surfactant therapy to treat the infant's hyaline membrane disease.
Examples
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Newborns with hyaline membrane disease often require immediate medical attention.
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Advancements in neonatal care have greatly reduced deaths from hyaline membrane disease.
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Premature babies are at a high risk of developing hyaline membrane disease due to their underdeveloped lungs.
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The doctor explained that hyaline membrane disease can be life-threatening.
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In the neonatal intensive care unit, several infants diagnosed with hyaline membrane disease required immediate breathing support.
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Doctors explained that hyaline membrane disease is common in premature infants and can significantly impede lung function.
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Due to hyaline membrane disease, the newborns faced serious respiratory challenges that needed urgent medical intervention.
Synonyms
1
6.5
A serious lung problem in premature babies whose lungs cannot stay open so they breathe fast and look blue
A serious lung problem in newborn babies, often premature, when their lungs cannot open properly and they have trouble breathing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally names a disease characterized by 'hyaline' (glassy) 'membranes', so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it is a medical condition involving glassy membranes. However, the specific clinical referent—an acute neonatal lung disorder caused by surfactant deficiency—cannot be fully predicted from the parts, making the term technically informative but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Hyaline membrane disease: The medical name hyaline membrane disease comes from how the lungs look in very small newborns: hyaline means 'glassy' and membrane means a thin film, because doctors saw a glassy layer over the tiny air sacs. That's why the name refers to a 'serious lung problem' where the lungs do not open well and the baby has trouble breathing.