Trachea into left and right main bronchi. The trachea begins level with the sixth cervical vertebra and the carina is found at the level of the fifth thoracic vertebra (T5), opposite the sternal angle and can be positioned up to two vertebrae lower or higher, depending on breathing. The trachea is surrounded by rings of hyaline cartilage; these rings are incomplete and C-shaped. The cricoid cartilage is attached to the first tracheal ring at top of the trachea and acts as the bottom of the larynx. There are fifteen to twenty rings in total, separated by narrow intervals. These reinforce the
Development of the human body and temporal changes in gene expression, cell growth and cellular differentiation. A nearly identical process occurs in other species, especially among chordates. A fetus is a stage in the human development considered to begin nine weeks after fertilization. In biological terms, however, prenatal development is a continuum, with many defining feature distinguishing an embryo from a fetus. A fetus is also characterized by the presence of all the major body organs, though they will not yet be fully developed and functional and some not yet situated in their final location. The fetus and embryo develop within the uterus, an organ