What Is Atelectasis?

Atelectasis (at-uh-LEK-tuh-sis) is a condition in which one or more areas of your lungs collapse or don't inflate properly. If only a small area or a few small areas of lung are affected, you may have no signs or symptoms.

If a large area or several large areas of lung are affected, they may not be able to deliver enough oxygen to your blood. This can cause symptoms and complications.

Overview

To understand atelectasis, it helps to understand how the lungs work. Your lungs are organs in your chest that allow your body to take in oxygen from the air. They also help remove carbon dioxide (a waste gas that can be toxic) from your body.

When you breathe, air passes through your nose and mouth into your windpipe. The air then travels to your lungs' air sacs. These sacs are called alveoli (al-VEE-uhl-eye).

Small blood vessels called capillaries (KAP-ih-lare-ees) run through the walls of the air sacs. When air reaches the air sacs, oxygen passes through the air sac walls into the blood in the capillaries. At the same time, carbon dioxide moves from the capillaries into the air sacs. This process is called gas exchange.

The air sacs must remain open and filled with air for gas exchange to work well. Surfactant (sur-FAK-tant), a liquid that coats the inside of the lungs, helps the air sacs stay open. Deep breathing and coughing also help keep the air sacs open. (Coughing helps clear mucus and other substances from your airways.)

In atelectasis, part of the lung collapses or doesn't inflate. The air sacs in that part of the lung no longer fill with air. As a result, they can't take part in gas exchange.

If only a small area or a few small areas of lung are affected, you may have no signs or symptoms. This is because the rest of the lung can bring in enough oxygen to make up for the collapsed part.

If atelectasis affects a large area or several large areas of lung, your body's organs and tissues might not get enough oxygen-rich blood.

Conditions and factors that keep the lungs from fully expanding and filling with air can cause atelectasis. For example, atelectasis is common after surgery.

The medicine used during some types of surgery to make you sleep can decrease or stop your normal effort to breathe and urge to cough. Sometimes, especially after chest or abdominal surgery, pain may keep you from taking deep breaths. As a result, part of your lungs may collapse or not inflate well.

Outlook

The outlook for atelectasis depends on its cause. In adults, atelectasis often is short term. The collapsed air sacs slowly refill with air once the cause of the atelectasis is resolved.

If atelectasis persists, it may prevent the lungs from properly clearing mucus. This can lead to infections, such as pneumonia.

Atelectasis usually isn't life threatening. However, if it affects a large area of the lungs—especially in a baby, small child, or someone who has another lung disease or illness—it can be fatal if not treated quickly.

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