2012-05-18

The Broken Trachea.

“You broke his trachea” says an NYPD cop. “I didn’t know a trachea could break” says Luke. 

Quote from the new action movie Safe.   

While I haven't seen the movie Safe, I heard this movie quote in a commercial for the movie and found it pretty amusing. A bit about the trachea: it is located in our neck (pictured below).  It is our breathing tube or our wind pipe, facilitating the air's passage between our mouths and lungs.
 
Image source here.

The interesting thing about the trachea is that the trachea actually does move (and yes, it can even break like the movie suggests), especially when there are underlying lung problems.  During a ear/nose/throat, head/neck, or lung exam, the trachea is examined by the doctor to see that it is midline. Two major pathologies that are associated with deviated tracheas: 1) lung punctures (pneumothorax), in which the trachea is deviated away from the punctured lung (so it moves to the far right of the neck if the left lung is punctured). 2) Atelectasis (collapse of lung alveoli), in which the trachea moves towards the affected lung (to the right when the right lung is diseased).

1 comment:

  1. Neat-o. So when the doctor says "open your mouth and say ah"
    he or she is looking for more than redness or swelling. Love learning something new everyday. Thanks Becca. Momma M

    ReplyDelete

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