Variations in the cartilaginous wireframe of adult human trachea

Introduction: The cartilaginous structure of the trachea is highly variable. In the everyday practice of otorhinolaryngology this structure is exposed on various surgical procedures. However, the deviations from the normal tracheal anatomy seem to be underestimated which may lead to complications of the operation performed. Our aim is to study the morphological alterations of the cartilaginous skeleton of the trachea in a population of adult individuals. Methods: The variations of the cartilaginous wireframe in adult human trachea were evaluated in 18 cadaver tracheas (10 male, 8 female, mean age 69±8.9 y.) and in reconstructions from computed tomography (CT) studies in 14 adults (10 male and 4 female, mean age 63 y., 46-77 y.) tracheal reconstructions was performed. Detailed structural and quantitative characteristics of the cartilaginous wireframe were analyzed.Results: In 17/18 cadaver tracheas cartilages with a shape, different from the simple horseshoe one, were observed. Of them 44.4% were found in the cervical part and 55.7% in the intrathoracic part of the organ. In 2/18 cases (11%) there was welding between the cricoid and the first tracheal cartilage. Regarding the CT reconstructions, in the neck region of 3/14 patients (27.2%) non-parallel cartilages were observed. Eight of them had up to 3 cartilages deviating from the normal horseshoe anatomy. In the thoracic area results were 11/14 (78.6%) and 10 (up to 5 deviations), respectively.Conclusions: The cartilaginous wireframe of the human trachea is characterized with high degree of variability for both structural and quantitative parameters. Some of these anatomical variations could present a risk factor for early or postoperative complications.Der Erstautor gibt keinen Interessenkonflikt an