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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your trachea, or windpipe, is one part of your airway system. Airways are pipes that carry oxygen-rich air to your lungs. They also carry carbon dioxide, a waste gas, out of your lungs.

When you inhale, air travels from your nose, through your larynx, and down your windpipe. The windpipe splits into two bronchi that enter your lungs.

Problems with the trachea include narrowing, inflammation, and some inherited conditions. You may need a procedure called a tracheostomy to help you breathe if you have swallowing problems, or have conditions that affect coughing or block your airways. You might also need a tracheostomy if you are in critical care and need to be on a breathing machine.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Larynx & Trachea (National Cancer Institute)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Tests for Lung Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• X-Ray Exam: Neck (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Tracheostomy - series -- Normal anatomy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Choking: First Aid (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Living with an Ostomy (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Vocal Fold Paralysis (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Tracheal Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Laryngotracheal Pathologies and Symptoms Associated to Airway Management of Critically Ill...
• Article: Application value of fibro-bronchoscopic cryosurgery combined with medication in the treatment...
• Article: Primary vs. secondary closure of tracheocutaneous fistulas: A prospective cohort study.
• Tracheal Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Lung Association
• Find an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist) (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• Bacterial Tracheitis (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Croup: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Esophageal Atresia and Tracheoesophageal Fistula (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Tracheoesophageal fistula repair - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tracheostomy (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Blockage of upper airway (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Swallowing problems (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tracheitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tracheoesophageal fistula and esophageal atresia repair (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tracheomalacia - acquired (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tracheomalacia - congenital (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tracheostomy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish