The adult NZW rabbit trachea is intrinsically less able to withstand tensile and compressive forces, compared to other airway models such as sheep or cadaveric human. Establishment of normative values will enable future research into changes in tracheal biomechanical properties during regenerative medicine manipulation and processing.

The data suggest cellular reduction leads to loss of compressive strength. Freezing at -80°C (either before, or subsequent to cellular reduction) may be a viable storage method for tracheal grafts.

NA.