Affected by or relating to atresia; having an abnormal absence or closure of a normal opening or passage.
Directly from atresia with -ic adjectival suffix. Common in medical terminology since the 1800s to describe pathological conditions affecting ducts, vessels, and passages.
When doctors describe an 'atretic follicle' in the ovary, they mean egg-containing sacs that never developed properly—understanding this helps explain certain types of infertility.
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