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windpipe

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
windpipe: see trachea trachea or windpipe, principal tube that carries air to and from the lungs. It is about 4 1-2 in. (11.4 cm) long and about 3-4 in. (1.9 cm) in diameter in the adult.
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trachea

 or windpipe

Tube in the throat and upper thoracic cavity through which air passes in respiration. It begins at the larynx and splits just above heart level into the two main bronchi, which enter the lungs. In adults it is about 6 in. (15 cm) long and 1 in. (2.5 cm) in diameter. Its structure—a membrane strengthened by 16–20 cartilage rings open in the back, with their free ends connected by muscle bands—allows the trachea to stretch and contract in breathing. An inner mucous membrane has cilia (see cilium) that project inward to trap particles. Muscle fibres over and alongside the trachea contract in response to cold air or irritants in inhaled air; in coughing, the airway narrows to about one-sixth of its normal size to increase the speed and force of exhalation and to dislodge foreign bodies. Such diseases as diphtheria, syphilis, tuberculosis, and typhoid often involve the trachea.
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But he cannot in any degree breathe through his mouth, for, in his ordinary attitude, the Sperm Whale's mouth is buried at least eight feet beneath the surface; and what is still more, his windpipe has no connexion with his mouth.
Moby Dick LXVIII-CXXXIV by Melville, Herman View in context
Besides the soreness in my mouth, and the pain in my neck, it always made my windpipe feel bad, and if I had stopped there long I know it would have spoiled my breathing; but I grew more and more restless and irritable, I could not help it; and I began to snap and kick when any one came to harness me; for this the groom beat me, and one day, as they had just buckled us into the carriage, and were straining my head up with that rein, I began to plunge and kick with all my might.
Black Beauty by Sewell, Anna View in context
First it was her arms that wound themselves about my neck, long, sinuous, and supple as the tentacles of some vile monster; then, as I struggled, her thumbs were on my windpipe like pads of steel.
Dead Men Tell No Tales by Hornung, E. W. View in context
 
 
 
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