What Is the Purpose of the Cartilage in the Wall of the Bronchi?

Cartilage in the walls of the bronchi makes breathing possible.

Form

• Cartilage is a firm, rubbery tissue found in many places in the human body. You can feel it by holding the lower part of your nose and moving it from side to side.

Function

• It also occurs where bones come together in joints, where it acts as a shock absorber.

  In your bronchi (tubes that connect your trachea or windpipe to your lungs), rings or plates of cartilage hold the soft tissue open so that air can go in and out, in much the same way the exhaust hose on a clothes dryer is held open by wire embedded in the thin plastic or metal tube.

Absence

• If the cartilage was not there, your bronchi would collapse every time you breathed in and no air could enter your lungs. According to an article in "Thorax,"a journal for professionals in respiratory medicine, some Australian researchers believe the same thing would happen every time you coughed or breathed out very hard.

  If bronchial cartilage is missing or damaged, it can lead to a potentially life-threatening condition called bronchiectasis.