The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a mobile cartilaginous and membranous tube that is approximately 11 cm long and 2-2.5 cm in diameter. It commences at the lower border of the cricoid cartilage of the larynx and extends downward in the midline of the neck into the thorax, where it ends by dividing into the two main bronchi at the level of the fourth and fifth thoracic vertebrae. The trachea functions as the main conduit of air to and from the lungs, connecting the larynx to the bronchi.