Finally, in the bronchi, but not the bronchioles, there is also a layer of cartilage below the submucosa which stiffens the bronchus and helps to keep it open.
The lower respiratory system begins with the larynx, or voice box, and includes the trachea, or wind pipe, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli within the lungs.
During inhalation, air reaches your lungs by traveling down your trachea, then it continues through the bronchi and the bronchioles and ends up in the alveoli.
The trachea is part of the conducting zone, and it branches into right and left primary bronchi, carrying air to and from the right and left lung, respectively.
So if we take a look at the lungs, you've got the trachea which branches off into the right and left bronchi and then continues to branch into thousands of bronchioles.
It is helpful to think of the lower respiratory system as being like an upside-down tree, where the trachea is the trunk, the bronchi are the branches, and the alveoli are the leaves.
In the region of the mediastinum, the trachea divides into two branches called bronchi. Each bronchus leads to a separate lung and divides and subdivides into smaller and finer tubes, somewhat like the branches of a tree.