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A bronchus (/ ˈ b r ɒ ŋ k ə s / BRONG-kəs; pl.: bronchi, / ˈ b r ɒ ŋ k aɪ / BRONG-ky) is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs.The first or primary bronchi to branch from the trachea at the carina are the right main bronchus and the left main bronchus.
The bronchioles (/ ˈ b r ɑː ŋ k i oʊ l s / BRONG-kee-ohls) are the smaller branches of the bronchial airways in the lower respiratory tract.They include the terminal bronchioles, and finally the respiratory bronchioles that mark the start of the respiratory zone delivering air to the gas exchanging units of the alveoli.
The lower airways or lower respiratory tract includes the portion of the larynx below the vocal folds, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles. The lungs can be included in the lower respiratory tract or as separate entity and include the respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, alveolar sacs, and alveoli. [3] Adult and pediatric airway anatomy
The lungs' interiors are open to the outside air and being elastic, therefore expand to fill the increased space, pleura fluid between double-layered pleura covering of lungs helps in reducing friction while lungs expansion and contraction. The inflow of air into the lungs occurs via the respiratory airways (Fig. 2).
The lungs are part of the lower respiratory tract, and accommodate the bronchial airways when they branch from the trachea. The bronchial airways terminate in alveoli which make up the functional tissue ( parenchyma ) of the lung, and veins, arteries, nerves, and lymphatic vessels .
A bronchopulmonary segment is a portion of lung supplied by a specific segmental bronchus and its vessels. [1] [2] These arteries branch from the pulmonary and bronchial arteries, and run together through the center of the segment. Veins and lymphatic vessels drain along the edges of the segment.
The cells in the respiratory epithelium are of five main types: a) ciliated cells, b) goblet cells, c) brush cells, d) airway basal cells, and e) small granule cells (NDES) [6] Goblet cells become increasingly fewer further down the respiratory tree until they are absent in the terminal bronchioles; club cells take over their role to some extent here. [7]
Atlas image: lung_carina at the University of Michigan Health System - "Cast of trachea and bronchi, anterior view" (#2) [dead link ] "Trachea and carina — tomogram, coronal plane" at SUNY Downstate Medical Center Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine; Carina tracheae entry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms