A quantitative study on the trachea of the dog

This study was carried out to record the detailed morphometric structure of the trachea in dogs using 15 female and four male healthy adult mongrel dogs. The diameter and thickness of each tracheal ring were measured, the number of tracheal rings varying from 36 to 45. All data were subjected to statistical analysis which was carried out on individual sections of the trachea, i.e. the cranial cervical, middle cervical, thoracic inlet and the intrathoracic tracheal regions, which consisted of 12, 12, nine and 12 tracheal rings, respectively. Fusion of the tracheal rings was especially obvious in the cranial cervical and thoracic inlet regions as a result of neck movements. The diameter and thickness of the tracheal rings are smallest at the thoracic inlet level because the direction of the trachea changes at this point where the thoracic inlet is relatively small and surrounded by bone. The ratios of inner transverse to inner vertical and outer transverse to outer vertical diameters were almost the same, between 1.14 and 1.25 in all regions, which indicated that the trachea is near-circular in shape in the dog. At the thoracic inlet level cross-sectional lumen areas are 7 and 6% smaller than those in the middle cervical and intrathoracic regions, respectively. The thinnest cartilage was seen at the thoracic inlet level where there is a risk of tracheal collapse.