cecum

Noun

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

the cavity in which the large intestine begins and into which the ileum opens“the appendix is an offshoot of the cecum”Synonyms: caecum blind gut

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

caecum \cae"cum\, n.; pl. C[ae]cums, L. C[ae]ca. [L. caecus blind, invisible, concealed.] (Anat.) (a) A cavity open at one end, as the blind end of a canal or duct. (b) The blind part of the large intestine beyond the entrance of the small intestine; -- called also the blind gut. [Also spelled cecum.] [1913 Webster]

Note: The c[ae]cum is comparatively small in man, and ends in a slender portion, the vermiform appendix; but in herbivorous mammals it is often as large as the rest of the large intestine. In fishes there are often numerous intestinal c[ae]ca. [1913 Webster]

cecum \cecum\ n. The caecum, the cavity in which the large intestine begins and into which the ileum opens.

Syn: caecum, blind gut. [WordNet 1.5]