Question #f4b6e
1 Answer
The trachea is made of special tissue to allow it to expand/ contract
Explanation:
Our trachea is mainly composed of C- shaped cartilaginous bones. In other words, they can bend like the bones in our ears.
You are thinking of the trachea collapsing due to lack of oxygen like a plastic,disposable, water bottle. Let us say the bottle is your trachea. Imagine an empty water bottle with your mouth on the bottle opening. You are now sucking ("breathing") out all the air. Inside the water bottle, all air is being sucked out. A vacuum develops and the plastic that holds the bottle together does not have a great structural integrity. The plastic then collapses in on itself. This is what you are thinking of.
Now think of the disposable water bottle, but made out of a flexible material that can be pulled together and not collapse on itself until air is breathed back into it. This is your trachea. The trachea is composed of elastic fibers that allow it to expand and contract and still maintain a structural integrity. Not only that, but there are a series of horseshoe-shaped (C-shaped if you want to call it that) cartilaginous bones that aid in the contraction process.
