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tracheae

 - 7 dictionary results

tra⋅che⋅a

  [trey-kee-uh or, especially Brit., truh-kee-uh]
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–noun, plural tra⋅che⋅ae  [trey-kee-ee or, especially Brit., truh-kee-ee] , tra⋅che⋅as.
1. Anatomy, Zoology. the tube in humans and other air-breathing vertebrates extending from the larynx to the bronchi, serving as the principal passage for conveying air to and from the lungs; the windpipe.
2. (in insects and other arthropods) one of the air-conveying tubes of the respiratory system.
3. Botany. vessel (def. 5).
Origin:
1350–1400; ME trache < ML trāchēa, for LL trāchīa < Gk trācheîa, short for artēría trācheîa rough artery, i.e., windpipe
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tra·che·a   (trā'kē-ə)   
n.   pl. tra·che·ae (-kē-ē') or tra·che·as

  1. Anatomy A thin-walled, cartilaginous tube descending from the larynx to the bronchi and carrying air to the lungs. Also called windpipe.

  2. Zoology One of the internal respiratory tubes of insects and some other terrestrial arthropods.

  3. Botany One of the tubular conductive vessels in the xylem of vascular plants.


[Middle English trache, from Medieval Latin trāchēa, from Late Latin trāchīa, from Greek (artēria) trākheia, rough (artery), trachea (as opposed to the smooth vessels that carried blood and not air), feminine of trākhus, rough.]
tra'che·al adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

trachea [(tray-kee-uh)]

The tube connecting the mouth to the bronchial tubes that carries air to the lungs; the windpipe.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

trachea 
c.1400, from M.L. trachea (c.1255), as in trachea arteria, from L.L. trachia (c.400), from Gk. trakheia, in trakheia arteria "windpipe," lit. "rough artery" (so called from the rings of cartilage that form the trachea), from fem. of trakhys "rough." See artery for connection with windpipe in Gk. science. Tracheotomy (1726) coined 1718 by Ger. surgeon Lorenz Heister (1683-1758) from Gk. -tomia "a cutting of," from tome "a cutting."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: tra·chea
Pronunciation: 'trA-kE-&, Brit also tr&-'kE-&
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural tra·che·ae /-kE-"E/ also tra·che·as
: the main trunk of the system of tubes by which air passes to and from the lungs that isabout four inches (10 centimeters) long and somewhat less than an inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter, extends down the front of the neck from the larynx, divides in two to form the bronchi, has wallsof fibrous and muscular tissue stiffened by incomplete cartilaginous rings which keep it from collapsing, and is lined with mucous membrane whose epithelium is composed of columnar ciliatedmucus-secreting cells called also windpipe
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

trachea tra·che·a (trā'kē-ə)
n. pl. tra·che·as or tra·che·ae (-kē-ē')
The airway that extends from the larynx into the thorax where it divides into the right and left bronchi. It is composed of thin incomplete rings of hyaline cartilage connected by a membrane called the annular ligament. Also called windpipe.

tra'che·al adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
trachea   (trā'kē-ə)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural tracheae (trā'kē-ē') or tracheas

  1. The tube in vertebrate animals that leads from the larynx to the bronchial tubes and carries air to the lungs. In mammals the trachea is strengthened by rings of cartilage. Also called windpipe.

  2. Any of the tiny tubes originating from the spiracles of many terrestrial arthropods and forming a branching network that brings air directly to body cells.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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