trachea

views updated May 11 2018

tra·che·a / ˈtrākēə/ • n. (pl. -che·ae / -kēˌē/ or -che·as) Anat. a large membranous tube reinforced by rings of cartilage, extending from the larynx to the bronchial tubes and conveying air to and from the lungs; the windpipe. ∎  Entomol. each of a number of fine chitinous tubes in the body of an insect, conveying air directly to the tissues. ∎  Bot. any duct or vessel in a plant, providing support and conveying water and salts.DERIVATIVES: tra·che·al adj.tra·che·ate / -it; -ˌāt/ adj.

trachea

views updated May 29 2018

trachea
1. (or windpipe) The tube in air-breathing vertebrates that conducts air from the throat to the bronchi. It is strengthened with incomplete rings of cartilage.

2. An air channel in insects and most other terrestrial arthropods. Tracheae occur as ingrowths of the body wall. They open to the exterior by spiracles and branch into finer channels (tracheoles) that terminate in the tissues (see also air sac). Pumping movements of the abdominal muscles cause air to be drawn into and out of the tracheae.

trachea

views updated May 14 2018

trachea
1. One of the cuticular tubes that make up the respiratory system of an insect. The tracheae ramify throughout the body, terminating in fine, intracellular branches (tracheoles). See SPIRACLE.

2. In air-breathing vertebrates, the ‘windpipe’, leading from the throat and dividing into two bronchii, which enter the lungs.

trachea

views updated May 11 2018

trachea (windpipe) Airway that extends from the larynx to about the middle of the sternum (breastbone). Reinforced with rings of cartilage, it is lined with hair-like cilia that prevent dirt and other substances from entering the lungs.

TRACHEA

views updated Jun 11 2018

TRACHEA [Stress: ‘tra-KEE-a’]. An anatomical term for the tube carrying air to and from the lungs, commonly known as the windpipe. See SPEECH.

trachea

views updated Jun 08 2018

trachea (anat.) tube extending from the larynx to the bronchi. XVI (earlier in trache arteria or arterie XV). — medL. trāchēa, for late L. trāchīa — Gr. trākheîa, fem. of trākhús rough.

trachea

views updated May 09 2018

trachea A vessel; a tube-like series of non-living cells in the xylem of a plant, supplying mechanical support and involved in the transport of water and salts.

trachea

views updated May 18 2018

trachea (tray-kiă) n. the windpipe: the part of the air passage between the larynx and the main bronchi.
tracheal (tray-ki-ăl) adj.