Main Entry: at·el·ec·ta·sis

Pronunciation: \ˌa-tə-ˈlek-tə-səs\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural at·el·ec·ta·ses \-ˌsēz\

Etymology: New Latin, from Greek atelēs incomplete, defective (from a- ²a- + telos end) + ektasis extension, from ekteinein to stretch out, from ex- + teinein to stretch — more at telos, thin

Date: 1859

: collapse of the expanded lung; also : defective expansion of the pulmonary alveoli at birth