"You cannot manage what you cannot picture. This topic is deliberately split into short, focused pages — one idea per tab — so you can read the airway the way you actually meet it at the bedside: anatomy, then assessment and scores, then the devices, the difficult situations, and rapid sequence induction. Move through the tabs above, or jump straight to what you need."
How to use this topic — CritCare.in Airway pilot.Each card below opens as its own page (the same tabs sit at the top of every page, so you never lose your place). This keeps each read short instead of one very long scroll.
Anatomy of the Airway
Upper & lower airway, laryngeal cartilages, an in-depth innervation table, the bronchial tree (why the right bronchus is more vertical) and a paediatric-vs-adult comparison.
🗣️02 · LARYNX & VC PALSYLarynx & Vocal-Cord Palsy
The five cord positions, the recurrent & superior laryngeal nerve course, and RLN vs SLN palsy (unilateral vs bilateral) at respiration and phonation — with a full palsy comparison table.
🔎03 · ASSESSMENTAirway Assessment
History and every bedside examination test — Mallampati, 3-3-2, thyromental & sternomental distance, upper-lip-bite, neck movement — with photos and prediction mnemonics.
📊04 · SCORESAirway Scores
Original and modified Mallampati, an upgraded Cormack–Lehane grade, and the composite scores (Wilson, El-Ganzouri/SARI, LEMON, Arné) with thresholds.
🧰05 · DEVICESDevices & Definitions
What each term means — face mask, oro-/nasopharyngeal airway, SGA/LMA, tracheal tube — and the definitions of difficult mask ventilation, laryngoscopy, intubation and CICO.
🩸06 · TRAUMATrauma & Pathology
The injured and the pathological airway — maxillofacial and laryngeal trauma, burns/inhalation, C-spine, and obstructing pathology (tumour, infection, OSMF, angioedema).
⚡07 · RSIRapid Sequence Induction
RSI as its own topic — indications, the classic sequence, drugs and doses, and Sellick's cricoid-pressure manoeuvre with the modern evidence and controversy.
🔊08 · ULTRASOUNDAirway Ultrasound
Anterior-neck sonoanatomy, real labelled POCUS images, cricothyroid-membrane marking and tube-placement confirmation (double-tract sign).
🎓09 · PEARLSAdvances, Mistakes & Pearls
Recent advances (VL, HFNO, eFONA), the classic mistakes, viva-ready exam pearls, and references & image credits.
The step-by-step management of the unanticipated difficult airway lives with the guideline algorithms (DAS, ASA 2022, AIDAA) so there is one authoritative place for them. Open the Guidelines library →