Trachea

There are many muscles and parts of the body that contribute to the functioning of the respiratory system. One of the most important parts is known as the trachea. The trachea can be described as a tube that the nose to the mouth to the lungs. It is one of the most important parts to the respiratory system because as a person inhales air, it travels down into the windpipe (another word for the trachea). This is an area that can potentially become the most damaged if a person inhales hazardous or toxic material.

The structure of the trachea is boney, consisting of cartilage and ligaments, at the front of the throat. Inside of the body, the trachea stretches down and spreads itself to the right and left bronchi. A typical length of a trachea ranges from 10 to 12 centimeters. What makes this part of the body so unique is that it is able to push objects out of the airway, causes a person to choke. Every person has a coughing reflex that is associated with the trachea to push foreign objects out of the respiratory cavity.

The trachea is a part of the body that has to be protected just like other vital organs of the body. It serves as a canal for breathing and if anything comes in contact with it that seems hazardous, there is a large change that it could become damaged (temporarily and permanently). Inflammation and other types of complications in the trachea call for immediate procedures to be done in order to clear the airway. Most of the procedures that help in life threatening instances are performed under general anesthesia. In order for a doctor to look at an area of the throat in question, they can perform routine tests such as an x-ray, CT scan. The trachea also assist normal lung function, so any sort of abnormality could be potentially fatal to the individual if medical professionals do not intervene to treat the situation.

Last modified: December 09 2009.