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Vertebrate trachea

 

 
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Vertebrate trachea
 
 
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The traceartes, or windpipe, is a tube that has an inner diameter of about 20-25 mm and a length of about 10-16 cm in humans. It commences at the larynx
Larynx

The larynx , colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the vertebrate trachea and sound production....
 (at the vertebral level of C6 in humans) and bifurcates into the primary (main) bronchi
Bronchus

A bronchus is a caliber of airway in the respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs.No gas exchange takes place in this part of the lungs....
 (at the vertebral level of T4/T5 in humans) in mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, and from the pharynx
Pharynx

FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
 to the syrinx
Syrinx (biology)

Syrinx is the name for the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's Vertebrate trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal cords of mammals....
 in bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, allowing the passage of air
AIR

Air is the part of Earth's atmosphere that humans breath and as such Air .Air may also refer to:...
 to the lungs. It is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
s with mucosae goblet cell
Goblet cell

Goblet cells are glandular simple columnar epithelium Cell whose sole function is to secrete mucus. They use both apocrine and merocrine methods for secretion....
s which produce mucus.






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Encyclopedia


The traceartes, or windpipe, is a tube that has an inner diameter of about 20-25 mm and a length of about 10-16 cm in humans. It commences at the larynx
Larynx

The larynx , colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the vertebrate trachea and sound production....
 (at the vertebral level of C6 in humans) and bifurcates into the primary (main) bronchi
Bronchus

A bronchus is a caliber of airway in the respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs.No gas exchange takes place in this part of the lungs....
 (at the vertebral level of T4/T5 in humans) in mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, and from the pharynx
Pharynx

FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
 to the syrinx
Syrinx (biology)

Syrinx is the name for the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's Vertebrate trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal cords of mammals....
 in bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, allowing the passage of air
AIR

Air is the part of Earth's atmosphere that humans breath and as such Air .Air may also refer to:...
 to the lungs. It is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
s with mucosae goblet cell
Goblet cell

Goblet cells are glandular simple columnar epithelium Cell whose sole function is to secrete mucus. They use both apocrine and merocrine methods for secretion....
s which produce mucus. This mucus lines the cells of the trachea to trap inhaled foreign particles which the cilia then waft upwards towards their larynx
Larynx

The larynx , colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the vertebrate trachea and sound production....
 and then the pharynx
Pharynx

FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
 where it can either be swallowed into the stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
 or expelled as phlegm.

In humans there are about 15 – 20 incomplete C-shaped cartilaginous rings
Tracheal rings

The cartilages of the trachea vary from sixteen to twenty in number: each forms an imperfect ring, which occupies the anterior two-thirds or so of the circumference of the Vertebrate trachea, being deficient behind, where the tube is completed by fibrous tissue and unstriped muscular fibers....
 which reinforce the anterior and lateral sides of the trachea to protect and maintain the airway open. There is a piece of smooth muscle
Smooth muscle

Smooth muscle is a type of non-striated muscle, found within the tunica media layer of large and small arteries and veins, the urinary bladder, uterus, male and female reproductive tracts, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, the ciliary muscle, and iris of the eye....
 connecting the ends off the incomplete cartilaginous rings called the Trachealis muscle. This contracts reducing the size of the lumen
Lumen (anatomy)

A lumen in biology is the inside space of a tubular structure, such as an artery or intestine. By extension, a lumen can also be the inside space of a cellular component or structure, such as the endoplasmic reticulum....
 of the trachea to increase the air flow rate during coughing. The esophagus
Esophagus

The esophagus or oesophagus , sometimes known as the gullet, is an Organ in vertebrates which consists of a Muscle tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach....
 lies posteriorly to the trachea. The cartilaginous rings are incomplete because this allows the trachea to collapse slightly to allow food to pass down the esophagus
Esophagus

The esophagus or oesophagus , sometimes known as the gullet, is an Organ in vertebrates which consists of a Muscle tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach....
. The epiglottis
Epiglottis

The epiglottis is a flap of elastic cartilage tissue covered with a mucous membrane, attached to the root of the tongue. It projects obliquely upwards behind the tongue and the hyoid bone....
 is the flap that closes the trachea during swallowing to prevent swallowed matter from entering the trachea.

In 2008, a Colombian woman received a trachea transplant using her own stem cells so her body would not reject the transplant.

Tracheal diseases and conditions


The following are diseases and conditions that affect the trachea:

  • Choking
    Choking

    Choking is the mechanical obstruction of the flow of air from the environment into the lungs. Choking prevents breathing, and can be partial or complete, with partial choking allowing some,...
  • Tracheotomy
    Tracheotomy

    Tracheotomy and tracheostomy are surgical procedures on the neck to open a direct airway through an incision in the Vertebrate trachea ....
    , a surgical procedure on the neck to open a direct airway through an incision in the trachea
  • Tracheomalacia
    Tracheomalacia

    Tracheomalacia is a condition characterized by flaccidity of the vertebrate tracheal support cartilage which leads to tracheal collapse especially when increased airflow is demanded....
     (weakening of the tracheal cartilage)
    • Tracheal collapse
      Tracheal collapse

      Tracheal collapse is a condition characterized by incomplete formation or weakening of the cartilagenous rings of the Vertebrate trachea resulting in flattening of the trachea....
       (in dogs)
  • Tracheobronchial injury
    Tracheobronchial injury

    Tracheobronchial injury is damage to the tracheobronchial tree . It can result from blunt trauma or penetrating trauma neck or chest trauma. The airways may also be injured by inhaling harmful fumes, or Pulmonary aspiration liquids or objects....
     (perforation of the trachea or bronchi)
  • Mounier-Kuhn syndrome
    Mounier-Kuhn syndrome

    Mounier-Kuhn syndrome is a very rare disease of the lungs and airways where the trachea and bronchus become abnormally wide. This leads to sputum collection in the lungs which results in repeated chest infections and bronchiectasis....
     (causes abnormal enlargement of the trachea)


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