Coecum

Caecum
Drawing of colon seen from front (cecum colored red)
Superior ileocecal fossa (cecum labeled at bottom left)
Details
Precursor	Midgut
System	Gastrointestinal
Identifiers
Latin	Caecum
MeSH	A03.556.124.526.209
TA	A05.7.02.001
FMA	14541
Anatomical terminology []

The cecum or caecum (/ˈsiːkəm/, plural ceca /ˈsiːkə/; from the Latin meaning blind) is an intraperitoneal pouch 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).

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) or 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.

In herbivores, the cecum stores food material where bacteria are able to break down the cellulose. This function no longer occurs in the human cecum (see appendix), so in humans it is simply a dead-end pouch forming a part of the large intestine.

The cecum and appendix are formed by the enlargement of the postarterial segment of the midgut loop. The proximal part of the bud grows rapidly to form the cecum. The lateral wall of the cecum grows much more rapidly than the medial wall, with the result that the point of attachment of the appendix comes to lie on the medial side.