embryonic/larval tracheal stalk cell [FBbt_00111335]

Y-shaped cell of the larval trachea that bifurcates at the distal end to connect to the two subtypes of tip cells, terminal and fusion. It forms an autocellular tube. The interface between a stalk cell and a terminal cell is simple, whereas the one between a stalk cell and a fusion cell is more complex. The stalk cell extends its seamed tube into the fusion cell, such that the apical membrane of the first surrounds almost the entire fusion cell lumen. (Gervais et al., 2012, Samakovlis et al., 1996, Francis and Ghabrial, 2015)