cecum

American  

[see-kuhm] / ˈsi kəm /

Or caecum

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

• ceca
  plural

1. a cul-de-sac, especially that in which the large intestine begins.

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cecum British  

/ ˈsiːkəm /

noun

1. a variant spelling of caecum

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cecum Scientific  

/ sē′kəm /

• ceca
  plural

1. A large pouch forming the beginning of the large intestine. The appendix and the ileum of the small intestine both connect to the cecum.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cecal
  adjective
• subcecal
  adjective
• cecally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ceca
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cecum

1715–25; short for Latin intestinum caecum blind gut

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cecum

Mice possess a cecum -- a pouch in their digestive system that slows the flow of intestinal contents and helps digest carbohydrates, which may contribute to being able to better tolerate sorbitol.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024

Rabbits digest their food twice: the first time food passes through the digestive system, it collects in the cecum, and then it passes through the anus as soft feces called cecotrophes.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Right after you eat, peristalsis in the ileum forces chyme into the cecum.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

It was during this examination that the larger polyp was discovered in the cecum, at the juncture of the large and small intestines.

From Time Magazine Archive

Fresh infection could not take place without a power to force the putrefaction greater than the force that existed before the abscess broke into the cecum.

From Appendicitis by John Henry Tilden

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