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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
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• Patient Handouts

Summary

A collapsed lung happens when air enters the pleural space, the area between the lung and the chest wall. If it is a total collapse, it is called pneumothorax. If only part of the lung is affected, it is called atelectasis.

Causes of a collapsed lung include:

• Lung diseases such as pneumonia or lung cancer
• Being on a breathing machine
• Surgery on the chest or abdomen
• A blocked airway

If only a small area of the lung is affected, you may not have symptoms. If a large area is affected, you may feel short of breath and have a rapid heart rate.

A chest x-ray can tell if you have it. Treatment depends on the underlying cause.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Atelectasis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Pneumothorax (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Shortness of Breath (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Tests for Lung Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Chest tube insertion - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Chest Tube Thoracostomy (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
• Pneumothorax - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• What Is LAM (Lymphangioleiomyomatosis)? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• What is a Spontaneous Pneumothorax? (American Thoracic Society) - PDF

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pneumothorax (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pulmonary Atelectasis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Effect of individualized PEEP titrated by EIT on postoperative atelectasis in...
• Article: Predictors of Contralateral Recurrence in Patients With Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax.
• Article: Atelectasis predicts poor prognosis in pediatric macrolides-unresponsive Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia with...
• Collapsed Lung -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• How the Lungs Work (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Lung Association
• Lung HelpLine (American Lung Association)
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Patient Handouts

• Atelectasis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Chest tube insertion (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Collapsed lung (pneumothorax) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hemothorax (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pneumothorax - infants (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish