atelectasia
/ateleɡˈtasja/feminine
Atelectasis is expressed in Spanish as atelectasia.
Atelectasia refers to a lung collapse caused by inner factors. It is a cognate of the English term, differing only in the final vowel.
Meaning: lung collapse caused by inner factors (noun)
Which one should you use?
While atelectasia is the direct medical term, you may also encounter colapso pulmonar to describe a lung collapse in formal contexts or the more informal aplastamiento del pulmón.
How does it change in a sentence?
Atelectasia is a feminine noun. When using the definite article, use la atelectasia. Unlike some other feminine nouns in Spanish that start with a stressed 'a' sound, this word does not trigger a change to the masculine article.
How do you pronounce it?
/ateleɡˈtasja/
Did you know?
- In a Spanish hospital, using the phrase aplastamiento del pulmón can be misleading because it implies the lung was physically crushed by an external object.
- The word atelectasia is derived from the Greek ‘atelēs’, meaning ‘imperfect’ or ‘incomplete’, which refers to the incomplete expansion of the lung.
- If you were to describe a lung collapse in a Spanish poem or literary work, you might see the word desinflado used metaphorically, which captures a sense of being 'deflated' that 'atelectasia' lacks.
Examples in context
- ¿Cuáles son los síntomas de la atelectasis en niños?What are the symptoms of atelectasis in children?
- La atelectasia puede ser causada por una obstrucción.Atelectasis can be caused by an obstruction.
- El paciente presenta una atelectasia severa.The patient presents a severe atelectasis.
- Debemos monitorizar la atelectasia en el hospital.We must monitor the atelectasis in the hospital.
Example conversation
Two doctors are discussing a patient's X-ray in a hospital.
- JavierMira la radiografía de este paciente.Look at this patient's X-ray.
- MaríaParece que tiene una atelectasia severa.It looks like he has severe atelectasis.
- JavierSí, el pulmón no se expande bien.Yes, the lung is not expanding well.
- MaríaIniciaremos la terapia respiratoria ahora.We will start respiratory therapy now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “atelectasis” translations and entries atelectasia, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries atelectasia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
