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trachea
(tra´ke-ә)
pl. tra´cheae
the air passage extending from the throat and larynx to the main bronchi; it is reinforced at the front and sides by a series of C-shaped rings of cartilage that keep the passage uniformly open. The trachea is lined with mucous membrane covered with small
hairlike processes called cilia that continuously sweep foreign material out of the breathing passages toward the mouth, a process slowed down by cold but
speeded up by heat. Called also windpipe. adj., tra´cheal., adj.
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