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Mucus has multiple functions:

  1. it contains white blood cells that catch any microbe and protect hte airway
  2. it is sticky so that it catches up dirt from the inhaled air, to clean up the air going to the lungs
  3. it protects the mucus membrane and keeps it wet, which is necessary for doing its job
  4. then it is washed by cilia (in the nose, washed into the stomach, where it is digested and microbes killed; and in the upper trachea during an infection out to the mouth)
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15y ago

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