Daily AncestorAtelectasis
Atelectasis means collapse of all or part of a lung; for a newborn, especially a premature one, it meant lungs too weak to open and stay open.
The word comes from Greek for incomplete expansion. The tiny air sacs of the lung stay flat, so the person cannot take in enough air.
In premature babies the lungs may lack the substance that keeps them open, a condition now called infant respiratory distress syndrome. The 1850 to 1880 mortality schedule codes used by IPUMS group lung collapse with pulmonary congestion.
As seen in a recordCause of death line, state death certificate, 1910s to 1930s
Baby girl Novak, 2 days, Atelectasis, premature birth
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Atelectasis." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/atelectasis. Last checked 2026-10-10.