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Coughing protects lower respiratory airways from blockages
High-pressure air bursts sweep mucus and foreign particles out of lungs
Coughing is a vital defensive reflex that clears mucus, foreign particles, and microbes from the trachea and bronchi. Deep inspiration followed by rapid closure of the vocal folds builds up chest pressure, which releases explosively to sweep airways clean.
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Tags: lungs, coughing, reflexes
Coughing protects lower respiratory airways from blockages: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- High-pressure air bursts sweep mucus and foreign particles out of lungs. The figure is taken from MedlinePlus, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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- Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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