- Tube of cartilage with a membranous lining continuous with the larynx
- Composed of 16–20 C-shaped cartilaginous rings
- Trachealis muscle completes the posterior wall
- Around 10-12 cm in length
- Extends down from cricoid at C6
- Terminates at carina at T5-
- Moves anteriorly to posteriorly from the cricoid distally
- Enters the chest behind the sternal notch
