trache(o)-

The trachea.

Greek trakheia (artēria), rough (artery), from trakhus, rough.

The trachea is the formal term for the windpipe. Tracheotomy (Greek ‑tomia, cutting), also tracheostomy (Greek stoma, mouth), is an incision in it to relieve an obstruction to breathing; tracheitis is inflammation of it. The eye disease trachoma derives from the same Greek root: the eyelashes turn inwards and roughen the surface of the eye, eventually leading to blindness if untreated.