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Cecum
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The caecum is the initial part of the large intestine, and the ileum enters into it. The cecum has a saccular shape, a free dome facing downwards, from which a vermicular appendix (appendix) departs. Less commonly, the caecum is conical. The length of the cecum is 4-8 cm. The posterior surface of the cecum is located on the iliacus and the large lumbar muscles. The anterior surface of the gut lies in the anterior abdominal wall. The cecum does not have a mesentery, but the peritoneum is covered on all sides (intraperitoneal position).
The transition of the ileum to the blind - the ileocecal opening (ostium ileocaecale) is an almost horizontal slit, bounded above and below by two folds forming the ileoconic valve (Valva ileocaecalis) or the Bauginia flap that enter the cavity of the cecum. In front and behind, the folds (flaps) of the valve converge and form a frenulum valvae ileocaecalis [ilealis] frenulum. In the thickness of the folds of the valve is a mucous membrane covered by a circular layer of musculature. The ilio-cecal valve has the appearance of a funnel, narrowly facing the lumen of the cecum. It freely passes the food mass from the small intestine to thick. When the pressure in the caecum increases, the folds of the ilio-cecal valve close and access from the colon to the small intestine is impossible. Somewhat below the ilio-cecal valve, there is an opening of the appendix (ostium appendicis vermiformis) on the inner surface of the cecum, near which the semilunular form of the fold of the mucous membrane is often visible.
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