pneumothorax

noun

pneu·​mo·​tho·​rax ˌnü-mə-ˈthȯr-ˌaks How to pronounce pneumothorax (audio)
ˌnyü-
: a condition in which air or other gas is present in the pleural cavity and which occurs spontaneously as a result of disease or injury of lung tissue, rupture of air-filled pulmonary cysts, or puncture of the chest wall or is induced as a therapeutic measure to collapse the lung

Examples of pneumothorax in a Sentence

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Following the traumatic delivery, Ava was diagnosed with bilateral pneumothorax, which required her to stay in the NICU, leaving Bowman grappling with feelings of guilt, failure and isolation. — Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024 In the new study, the researchers tested deep learning systems with adversarial examples on three popular medical imaging tasks—classifying diabetic retinopathy from retinal images, pneumothorax from chest X-rays, and melanoma from skin photos. — IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pneumothorax was in 1821

Rhymes for pneumothorax

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Browse Nearby Words

pneumotectic
pneumothorax
pneumovirus
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“Pneumothorax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pneumothorax. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.

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Medical Definition

pneumothorax

noun
pneu·​mo·​tho·​rax ˌn(y)ü-mə-ˈthō(ə)r-ˌaks, -ˈthȯ(ə)r- How to pronounce pneumothorax (audio)
plural pneumothoraxes or pneumothoraces -ˈthōr-ə-ˌsēz How to pronounce pneumothorax (audio)
: a condition in which air or other gas is present in the pleural cavity and which occurs spontaneously as a result of disease or injury of lung tissue, rupture of air-filled pulmonary cysts, or puncture of the chest wall or is induced as a therapeutic measure to collapse the lung see tension pneumothorax compare oleothorax

More from Merriam-Webster on pneumothorax

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pneumothorax

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