Trachea

The trachea is a flexible airway connecting the larynx to the main bronchi. C-shaped cartilage rings keep it open while its lining traps and clears inhaled particles.

Tracheal cartilage: Incomplete rings of hyaline cartilage that support the tracheal wall and help keep the airway open. These rings prevent collapse while allowing the esophagus behind the trachea to expand during swallowing.
Larynx: A structure in the neck that connects the pharynx to the trachea and houses the vocal folds. The trachea begins below the larynx, receiving air from it.
Tracheostomy: A surgical opening through the neck into the trachea to provide an airway. This procedure creates direct access to the tracheal lumen when breathing through the upper airway is impaired.
Respiratory diverticulum: An embryonic outgrowth of the foregut that gives rise to the lower respiratory tract. The trachea develops from the stalk of this early respiratory outgrowth.
Pharynx: A muscular passage behind the nose and mouth that carries air toward the larynx and food toward the esophagus. The pharynx lies upstream of the trachea and serves both breathing and swallowing.
Mucociliary clearance: The coordinated movement of mucus and cilia that carries inhaled particles out of the airways. Cilia in the tracheal lining sweep trapped particles upward toward the throat.
Main bronchi: The two large airways formed where the trachea divides, each leading to a lung. They are the trachea’s immediate continuations into the lungs.
Endotracheal intubation: Placement of a tube through the mouth or nose into the trachea to secure ventilation. The tube passes through the trachea to deliver air to the lungs.
Tracheoesophageal septum: An embryonic partition that separates the developing trachea from the esophagus. Its formation divides the shared foregut into the tracheal and esophageal passages.
Nasal cavity: The air-filled space inside the nose that filters, warms, and humidifies inhaled air. Air commonly passes through the nasal cavity before reaching the trachea.

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