caecum Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the cavity in which the large intestine begins and into which the ileum opens
    cecum; blind gut.
    • the appendix is an offshoot of the cecum

WordNet


Cæ"cum noun (Also<
  • Caecum
  • Cæcum
)
Etymology
L. caecus blind, invisible, concealed.
Wordforms
plural Cæcums, L Cæca
Definitions
  1. (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. ✍ The cæcum 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 cæca.

Webster 1913