Cough reflex

<p>The cough reflex occurs when stimulation of cough receptors in the <a href="/facts/Respiratory_tract/nnG9UEmr">respiratory tract</a> by dust or other foreign particles produces a <a href="/facts/Cough/mqyhR6zj">cough</a>, which causes rapidly moving air which usually remove the foreign material before it reaches the <a href="/facts/Lungs/gTWXI6Fj">lungs</a>. This typically clears particles from the <a href="/facts/Bronchi/t83cUXou">bronchi</a> and <a href="/facts/Trachea/zMSEwjAy">trachea</a>, the tubes that feed air to lung tissue from the nose and mouth. The <a href="/facts/Larynx/0bhtXI3Q">larynx</a> (voice box) and <a href="/facts/Carina_of_trachea/z5gKXHrM">carina</a> (at the bottom of the trachea, as it splits into bronchi) are especially sensitive. Cough receptors in the surface cells (<a href="/facts/Epithelium/ecKHcHC3">epithelium</a>) of the respiratory tract are also sensitive to chemicals. <a href="/facts/Terminal_bronchioles/2mPRrpQs">Terminal bronchioles</a> and even the <a href="/facts/Pulmonary_alveolus/aEHP1ATT">alveoli</a> are sensitive to chemicals such as <a href="/facts/Sulfur_dioxide/jDK1fIDs">sulfur dioxide</a> gas or <a href="/facts/Chlorine/y27UwYBM">chlorine</a> gas.
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Cough reflex open-in-new

Cough reflex