TheTrachea:

PreferablyaliveIfitsdead,youredead!




Ifyourelookingfortheoneofthemostdangerousmissingorgans(whichyoushould
be!),thenyoushouldbetryingtospotthesefeatures:Thehumantracheaweighsabout1
pound,hasaninnerdiameterofabout1inch,andis46incheslong.Itattaches/runsfromthe
larynxtothebronchi,whichleadtothebronchioles,andeventuallythealvioli(lungs).Ithasabout
20ringsoftoughcartilagetosupportit,whichareheldtogetherbysmoothtissuecalledmucosa.
Thetracheawidensandstretchesoutwitheachbreathin,andreturnstoitsoriginalrelaxed
positionwitheachbreathoutandbetweenbreaths.
Themainfunctionsofthetrachea(someofthesearemoreminorfunctionsbecausethe
tracheareallyonlyhasonemainfunction)are:1.(themainfunction)Toallowairpassageto
yourlungs.Airtravelsinthroughthemouthandnose,throughthelarynx,downthetrachea,
throughthebronchiandbronchioles,andfinallytothealvioli(lungs).2.Keepingforeignobjects
outofyourlungs.Theinsideofthetracheaiscoatedwithastickymucusthattrapsunwanted
intruders.Thesetrappedparticlescanexitthebodyasphlegmorbeswallowed.3.
Digestive/RespiratorySafetyMechanism.Ifeitherthetracheaortheesophagusbecomes
blocked,thebodywilltriggerareflexthatwillmakeyoustartchoke,expellingtheforeignobject
fromtheblockedarea.4.Thermoregulation.Iftheairyoubreathistoowarm,thetrachea
activatesasystemtopromotelossofheat.Similarly,iftheairyouarebreathingistoocold,the
tracheacanwarmtheairbeforeitreachesthelungs,creatingathermobalance.
Somesystemcategoriesthetracheafallsunderaretherespiratorysystem,the
excretorysystem,thedigestivesystem,andtheskeletalsystem.Thetracheaworkswiththe
excretorysystembytrappingforeignobjectsintherespiratorysystemandexpellingthemfrom
thebody.Itworkswiththedigestivesystembyclearingtheesophaguswhenitisblockedwith
thechoking/coughingreflexes.Lastlyitworkswiththeskeletalsystembecausecartilagerings
supportthetrachea.
Somediseasesthataffectthetracheaare:Trachetitis(inflammationofthetrachea),
Tracheomalacia(weakeningofthetrachealcartilage),andTrachealStenosis(narrowingor
constrictionofthetrachea).Apersoncouldntlivecompletelywithouttheirtrachea.However,a
fewpeoplehavesurvivedtracheatransplants,anditispossibletohaveatracheotomy,wherea
tubeisinsertedandamachinehelpsyoubreath.


Thesearchforthetracheaishighpriorityitreallyiswanted
alive!Maythisinformationhelpyou,andgoodluck!

1) Description:size,weight,otherimportantThetrachea(alsoknownasthewindpipe)the
tubethatisabout46incheslong,andhasaninnerdiameterofabout1inch.Itrunsfrom
thelarynxtothebronchi.Itismadeupofabout20incompleteringsofcartilage,and
smoothtissuecalledmucosa.Thetracheawidensandstretchesoutwitheachbreathin,
andreturnstoitsoriginalrelaxedpositionwitheachbreathoutandinbetweenbreaths.
2) Themainfunctionsofthetrachea(someoftheseareminorfunctions,becausethe
tracheareallyonlyhasonemainfunction)are:1.(themainfunction)Toallowair
passagetoyourlungs.Airtravelsinthroughthemouthandnose,downthetrachea,
throughthebronchi,thebronchioles,andfinallytothealvioli.2.Keepingforeignobjects
outofyourlungs.Theinsideofthetracheaiscoveredwithastickylayerofmucus,which
willtrapanyunwantedvisitors.Thesetrappedparticlescanexitthebodyasphlegmorbe
swallowed.3.Digestive/RespiratorySafetyMechanism.Thetracheaisconnectedtothe
 tubethatenablesyoutoswallow.Wheneitherofthesesystemsareblocked,youstartto
choke.Chokingandthecoughingreflexgettheforeignobjectoutofthebody.4.
Thermoregulation.Ifthereisanincreasedtemperatureoftheair,thebodyactivatesa
systemtoenablereducedheat.Iftheairyouarebreathingistoocold,yourtracheacan
warmtheairbeforeitreachesthelungs,creatingathermobalance.
3) Thesystemsthatcontainmyorganare:Therespiratorysystem(passageofair),the
digestivesystem(connectedtoswallowingsystem,chokingreflex),theexcretorysystem
(exhalescarbondioxideusedair,getsridofforeignbodies),andtheskeletalsystem
(madeupofcartilagerings).
4) Thetracheaworkswiththedigestivesystemtomakesurethetubingsystemsdontget
blocked(whenblockedstartschoking).Itworkswiththeskeletalsystem(supportedby
cartilagerings),andtheExcretorysystem(getsridofforeignbodiesintubingsystem).
5) Somediseasesthataffectthetracheaare:1.Tracheitis(inflammationofthetrachea).2.
Tracheomalacia(weakeningofthetrachealcartilage).3.TrachealStenosis(narrowingor
constrictionofthetrachea).
6) Apersoncouldnotlivecompletelywithoutthetrachea,becausewithoutit,thewouldbe
nopassageforairbetweenthelarynxandthebronchi(aircouldntreachyourlungs).
However,afewpeoplehavelivedwithtracheatransplants,anditispossibletohavea
tracheatomy,whereatubeisinsertedandamachinehelpsyoubreathe.
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