Tracheal rings
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| Tracheal rings | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ligaments of the larynx. Posterior view. (Rings visiblea at bottom.) | |
| Latin | cartilagines tracheales |
| Gray's | subject #237 1086 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | c_12/12217233 |
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The cartilages of the trachea (or tracheal rings) 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 trachea, being deficient behind, where the tube is completed by fibrous tissue and unstriped muscular fibers.
Middle tracheal cartilages
The cartilages are placed horizontally above each other, separated by narrow intervals.
They measure about 4 mm. in depth and 1 mm. in thickness.
Their outer surfaces are flattened in a vertical direction, but the internal are convex, the cartilages being thicker in the middle than at the margins.
Two or more of the cartilages often unite, partially or completely, and they are sometimes bifurcated at their extremities.
They are highly elastic, but may become calcified in advanced life.
Bronchial cartilages
In the right bronchus the cartilages vary in number from ten to twelve; in the left, from fifteen to twenty.
They are longer and wider than those of the trachea, but have the same shape and arrangement.
First and last tracheal cartilages
The peculiar tracheal cartilages are the first and the last.
The first cartilage is broader than the rest, and often divided at one end; it is connected by the cricotracheal ligament with the lower border of the cricoid cartilage, with which, or with the succeeding cartilage, it is sometimes blended.
The last cartilage is thick and broad in the middle, in consequence of its lower border being prolonged into a triangular hook-shaped process, which curves downward and backward between the two bronchi. It ends on each side in an imperfect ring, which encloses the commencement of the bronchus. The cartilage above the last is somewhat broader than the others at its center.
Additional images
 Conducting passages. | |
 Front view of cartilages of larynx, trachea, and bronchi. |
 Bronchi and bronchioles. The lungs have been widely separated and tissue cut away to expose the air-tubes. |
External links
- Histology at vetmed.wsu.edu
- Atlas of anatomy at UMich rsa3p2 - "Larynx and trachea, lateral view"
- "Cat Respiratory System " at kent.edu
Anatomy of torso, respiratory system: Lungs and related structures | |
|---|---|
| lungs | right • left • lingula • apex • base • root • cardiac notch • cardiac impression • hilum • borders (anterior, posterior, inferior) • surfaces (costal, mediastinal, diaphragmatic) • fissures (oblique, horizontal) |
| conducting zone | trachea (tracheal rings, carina) • bronchi • main bronchus (right, left) • lobar/secondary bronchi (eparterial bronchus) • segmental/tertiary bronchi (bronchopulmonary segment) • bronchiole • terminal bronchiole |
| respiratory zone | |
| pleurae | parietal pleura (cervical, costal, mediastinal, diaphragmatic) • visceral pleura • pulmonary ligament • recesses (costomediastinal, costodiaphragmatic) • pleural cavity |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
