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

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

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

When the cecum is distended with chyme, contractions of the ileocecal sphincter strengthen.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Then came a barrage of medical terms--villous, cecum, colectomy--each of which Speakes had to spell out painstakingly.

From Time Magazine Archive

The digestive organs were double and separate as far as the lower third of the ilium, and the cecum was on the left side and single, in common with the lower bowel.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle

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