atresia

American  

[uh-tree-zhuh, -zhee-uh] / əˈtri ʒə, -ʒi ə /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

1. the congenital absence, or the pathological closure, of an opening, passage, or cavity.

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atresia British  

/ -ʒə, əˈtriːʒɪə /

noun

1. absence of or unnatural narrowing of a body channel

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Other Word Forms

• atresic adjective
• atretic adjective

Etymology

Origin of atresia

1800–10; < New Latin < Greek a- a- ⁶ + três ( is ) perforation + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

Billy was born with a condition called tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, a severe heart defect that occurs in approximately one in 2,500 babies.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2024

Diagnosed with biliary atresia, a bile ducts blockage, at eight weeks old, she now has end-stage liver failure.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024

Cecilia had been suffering since birth with biliary atresia.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 18, 2021

And my little girl got diagnosed with biliary atresia and we spent 93 days on the liver transplant waiting list.

From Washington Post • Jun. 19, 2020

Anorectal atresia is the ordinary imperforation of the anus, in which the rectum terminates in the middle of the sacral cavity.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)