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The trachea's main function is to transport air to and from the lungs. It also helps to warm, humidify, and filter the air before it reaches the lungs. The trachea is made up of rings of cartilage, which help to keep it open and prevent it from collapsing.
The trachea is the largest tube in the respiratory tract and consists of tracheal rings of hyaline cartilage. It branches off into two bronchial tubes, a left and a right main bronchus. The bronchi branch off into smaller sections inside the lungs, called bronchioles. These bronchioles give rise to the air sacs in the lungs called the alveoli. [10]
It bridges the gap between the free ends of C-shaped rings of cartilage at the posterior border of the trachea, adjacent to the oesophagus. [1] [2] [3] This completes the ring of cartilages of the trachea. [3] The trachealis muscle also supports a thin cartilage on the inside of the trachea. [4] It is the only smooth muscle present in the ...
The cricoid cartilage is the only laryngeal cartilage to form a complete circle around the airway. It is smaller yet thicker and tougher than the thyroid cartilage above. [1] It articulates superiorly [citation needed] with the thyroid cartilage, and the paired arytenoid cartilage. Inferiorly, the trachea attaches onto it. [1]
Hyaline cartilage is the most common kind of cartilage in the human body. [2] It is primarily composed of type II collagen and proteoglycans. [2] Hyaline cartilage is located in the trachea, nose, epiphyseal plate, sternum, and ribs. [2] Hyaline cartilage is covered externally by a fibrous membrane known as the perichondrium. [2]
Hyaline cartilage has fewer cells than elastic cartilage; there is more intercellular space. Hyaline cartilage is found in the nose, ears, trachea, parts of the larynx, and smaller respiratory tubes. Fibrous cartilage has the fewest cells so it has the most intercellular space. Fibrous cartilage is found in the spine and the menisci.
The carina is a cartilaginous ridge separating the left and right main bronchi that is formed by the inferior-ward and posterior-ward prolongation of the inferior-most tracheal cartilage. [2] The carina occurs at the lower end of the trachea - usually at the level of the 4th to 5th thoracic vertebra.
A counterpart notch at the bottom of the cartilage is called the inferior thyroid notch. The two halves of the cartilage that make out the outer surfaces extend obliquely to cover the sides of the trachea. The posterior edge of each half articulates with the cricoid cartilage inferiorly at a joint called the cricothyroid joint. The most ...