Cecum

The cecum or caecum (/ˈsiːkəm/, plural ceca /ˈsiːkə/; from the Latin caecus meaning blind) is an intraperitoneal pouch that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix, to which it is joined).Illustration of the large intestineDiagram of human gastrointestinal tractCecum and ileumIleo-cecal valveCecumIleocecal orificeLocation of McBurney's point (#1)The superior mesenteric artery and its branchesArteries of cecum and vermiform processInferior ileocecal fossaInterior of the cecum and lower end of ascending colon, showing colic valveTopography of thoracic and abdominal visceraEndoscopic image of cecum with arrow pointing to ileocecal valve in foreground The cecum or caecum (/ˈsiːkəm/, plural ceca /ˈsiːkə/; from the Latin caecus meaning blind) is an intraperitoneal pouch that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix, to which it is joined). It receives chyme from the ileum, and connects to the ascending colon of the large intestine. It is separated from the ileum by the ileocecal valve (ICV) or Bauhin's valve. It is also separated from the colon by the cecocolic junction. While the cecum is usually intraperitoneal, the ascending colon is retroperitoneal. In herbivores, the cecum stores food material where bacteria are able to break down the cellulose. This function no longer occurs in the human cecum (see appendix), so in humans it is simply a dead-end pouch forming a part of the large intestine. The cecum and appendix are formed by the enlargement of the postarterial segment of the midgut loop. The proximal part of the bud grows rapidly to form the cecum. The lateral wall of the cecum grows much more rapidly than the medial wall, with the result that the point of attachment of the appendix comes to lie on the medial side. The term cecum comes from the Latin (intestinum) caecum, literally 'blind intestine', here in the sense 'blind gut' or 'cul de sac'.. It is a direct translation from Ancient Greek τυφλὸν (ἔντερον) - typhlòn (énteron). Thus the inflammation of the cecum is called typhlitis. In dissections by the Greek philosophers, the connection between the ileum of the small intestines and the cecum was not fully understood. Most of the studies of the digestive tract were done on animals and the results were compared to human structures. The junction between the small intestine and the colon, called the ileocecal valve, is so small in some animals that it was not considered to be a connection between the small and large intestines. During a dissection, the colon could be traced from the rectum, to the sigmoid colon, through the descending, transverse, and ascending sections. The cecum is an end point for the colon with a dead-end portion terminating with the appendix.