Gallery 02 · Room 01

A simple appearance. A considered design.

At first glance, a Shiley tracheostomy tube looks deceptively simple. Look closer, and each component reveals a purpose. The curve of the outer cannula, the removable liner within it, the shaped tip of the obturator, the flange resting against the neck—each contributes to how the device works. Together, they offer a small study in form and function.

Let’s take it apart, piece by piece. As you explore, notice not only what each part is called, but how it fits, what it does, and what changes when it is removed. That familiarity matters when you encounter a different tube—or when a familiar one stops working as expected.

Choose a component below. Let’s begin there.

Gallery 02 · Room 02

Before you ventilate, know the cuff.

A patient with a tracheostomy is struggling to breathe. As you assess and oxygenate, identify the tube: does it have a cuff, and can it provide a seal for ventilation? Cuff presence alone does not establish that the airway is working.

Start with the small balloon beside this Shiley. Follow its line to the tube, then explore the cuff. Together, these parts form a system separate from the breathing lumen.

Gallery 02 · Room 03

The small print describes the shape.

The markings on a flange can look like little more than a catalog reference. Read them alongside the tube, and they become a description of its geometry: the space inside, the diameter outside, and the length along its curve. A familiar size number tells only part of that story.

This cuffed Shiley Flex example is a different model from the cuffless specimen in Room 01. Let’s read it closely, then compare how a change in length alters the shape we have come to recognize.

Gallery 02 · Room 04

A small attachment can change the route.

A tube rarely sits alone. At its entrance, an attachment may help conserve warmth and moisture, connect breathing equipment, or change where air can travel. Follow a breath through the assembled device to see what each attachment changes.

As you compare the objects below, trace inspiration and then expiration. Pay particular attention to the speaking valve and the cap: this is where our study of the tube leads us back to the anatomy above it.

Gallery 02 · Room 05

Ready before it’s needed.

Before a patient needs an airway decision, the room needs to be ready. The next person through the door should be able to identify the airway, find the right equipment and know that it works.

Read the airway information, then look across the equipment. What belongs here depends on the patient—not simply on the word “tracheostomy.”