The trachea is a short, flexible air tube, which extends from the larynx down to the middle of the thorax, where it divides into two main bronchi. It allows the passage of air from the larynx and pharynx to the lungs. The diameter of the trachea is about 2,5 cm and it is about 10 cm long in most people.

The trachea is composed of fifteen to twenty C-shaped cartilage rings, where the posterior part of each ring is made of muscle and connective tissue. The trachea extends just under the larynx at the level of sixth cervical vertebra (C6), then it travels behind the sternum and ends at the carina, in about the middle of the thorax - at the level of the fifth thoracic vertebra (T5), where the trachea divides into right and left main bronchi.