cecum

Also known as caecum, ceca

The cecum ( caecum, ; plural ceca or caeca, ) is a pouch within the peritoneum 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). The term stems from the Latin caecus, meaning "blind".

AI overview

The cecum is a pouch-shaped structure at the beginning of your large intestine, typically found on the right side of your body where it connects to the appendix. It gets its name from the Latin word for "blind" because it's a dead-end pouch rather than a tube that passes straight through.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Anatomy.Name: Cecum
Anatomy.Latin: caecum
Anatomy.Image: Tractus intestinalis cecum.svg
Anatomy.Caption: The cecum, here in red, lies at the start of the large intestine, which is shown with the rest of the human gastrointestinal tract in this image.
Anatomy.Image2: Gray1043.png
Anatomy.Caption2: Superior ileocecal fossa(cecum labeled at bottom left)
Anatomy.Precursor: Midgut
Anatomy.System: Gastrointestinal
Anatomy.PartOf: Large intestine
Anatomy.Location: Lower right part of the abdomen

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

36,311 papers

An unusual subhepatic cecum identified during cadaveric dissection: relevance for clinical diagnosis and anatomy education.Surgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA · 2026Clayton J, Krews J, Fouchi G et al.DOI: 10.1007/s00276-026-03827-9
Unravelling the secrets of the caecum.Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology · 2019Stumpff F, Manneck D, Martens HDOI: 10.1007/s00424-019-02292-1
[Cancer of the cecum].Concours medical · 1947TOURNEUX JP
Alterations in the mouse cecum and its flora produced by antibacterial drugs.The Journal of experimental medicine · 1968Savage DC, Dubos RDOI: 10.1084/jem.128.1.97
[Caecum hernia of foramen of Winslow].Revue medicale de Liege · 2023Van Boeckel V, Arenas-Sanchez M, Legrand M et al.
Caecal duplication, a case report.La Pediatria medica e chirurgica : Medical and surgical pediatrics · 2021Corroppolo M, Pani E, Bortolami MT et al.DOI: 10.4081/pmc.2021.246
[The mobile-cecum--a contribution to the independence of this disease and to its surgical treatment].Zeitschrift fur Kinderchirurgie : organ der Deutschen, der Schweizerischen und der Osterreichischen Gesellschaft fur Kinderchirurgie = Surgery in infancy and childhood · 1982Schütter FW, Müller E, Willberg BDOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1059805
[Spontaneous perforation of cecum].Journal de chirurgie · 1957LATASTE J

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Stomach colon rectum diagram-en.svg

Show 2 more facts

Commons category: Cecum
NCI Thesaurus ID: C12381

Sources (7)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Article

10 sections

Contents

Structure
Development
History
Etymology
Clinical significance
Other animals
Gallery
See also
References
External links

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), also called 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.