Purpose or Case Report: Disorders of the large airways occur frequently in the pediatric population.
Affected pediatric patients typically present with symptoms related to airway obstruction, including stridor, wheezing and dyspnea.
Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to respiratory compromise because of the smaller size of their airways.
As radiologists, we are pretty good at commenting on the lungs, pleural spaces and cardiomediastinal contours, but we often neglect or forget to take a look at the airways.

By definition, the upper airways are the air passages from the nasal cavity to the cervical trachea above the thoracic inlet. The lower airways begin below the thoracic inlet and include the thoracic trachea and bronchi. The spectrum of airways disorders is vast and includes both upper and lower airways anomalies, which can be congenital or acquired.

This educational exhibit will review the imaging findings of congenital lower airways anomalies, both on conventional radiography and cross-sectional imaging. I will also highlight radiographic features suggesting large airway pathology.

The following congenital lower airways anomalies will be reviewed:

Laryngeal cleft
Tracheal bronchus
Congenital tracheal stenosis
Congenitally short trachea
Congenital bronchial stenosis
Tracheobronchomalacia
Bronchial agenesis/hypoplasia/aplasia
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