Cilia

Cilia are microscopic, hairlike cell projections that beat in coordinated waves to move mucus and trapped particles along the lining of many airways.

Axoneme: The internal microtubule framework of a cilium or flagellum, typically arranged in nine outer doublets around a central pair. Its arrangement provides the scaffold on which airway cilia generate motion.
Motile cilium: A cell-surface projection specialized to beat and move fluid or material across an epithelial surface. Airway cilia are motile cilia adapted for directional transport.
Primary ciliary dyskinesia: A group of inherited disorders in which motile cilia function abnormally, impairing mucus clearance and other cilia-dependent processes. Defective airway cilia cause persistent respiratory problems characteristic of this disorder.
Primary cilium: Usually a single, nonmotile cell projection that senses chemical or mechanical signals. Unlike airway motile cilia, it generally functions as a sensory antenna rather than a mucus transporter.
Dynein: A family of motor proteins that use ATP to move along microtubules. Axonemal dynein motors drive the sliding forces that bend airway cilia.
Epithelial cell: A cell that forms a protective or absorptive lining on body surfaces and cavities. Motile cilia project from epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract.
Kartagener syndrome: A form of primary ciliary dyskinesia associated with chronic sinusitis, bronchiectasis, and situs inversus. It links impaired airway ciliary motion to a distinctive combination of clinical features.
Flagellum: A long motile cell projection that propels a cell or moves fluid, built on a microtubule-based structure in eukaryotes. It shares core motile machinery with cilia but typically occurs singly and produces whole-cell propulsion.
Ciliary beat: The repeating power and recovery strokes by which a motile cilium moves fluid or particles. Its direction and timing determine how effectively mucus travels toward the throat.
Basal body: A centriole-derived structure that anchors a cilium and organizes its microtubules. Each airway cilium is rooted in a basal body beneath the cell surface.

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