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Blind intestine
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 07.07.2025
The cecum is the initial part of the large intestine, into which the ileum flows. The cecum has a saccular shape, a free dome facing downwards, from which the vermiform appendix (appendix) extends downwards. Less often, the cecum is cone-shaped. The length of the cecum is 4-8 cm. The posterior surface of the cecum is located on the iliac and large lumbar muscles. The anterior surface of the intestine is adjacent to the anterior abdominal wall. The cecum does not have a mesentery, but is covered with peritoneum on all sides (intraperitoneal position).
The transition from the ileum to the cecum, the ileocaecal opening (ostium ileocaecale), is an almost horizontal slit, limited at the top and bottom by two folds protruding into the cavity of the cecum, forming the ileocaecal valve (valva ileocaecalis), or Bauhinian valve. The folds (valves) of the valve converge in front and behind to form the frenulum of the ileocaecal valve (frenulum valvae ileocaecalis [ilealis]). Within the thickness of the valve folds there is a circular layer of muscle covered with a mucous membrane. The ileocaecal valve has the appearance of a funnel, with its narrow part facing the lumen of the cecum. It freely passes food from the small intestine into the large intestine. When the pressure in the cecum increases, the folds of the ileocecal valve close and access from the large intestine to the small intestine is impossible. Somewhat below the ileocecal valve on the inner surface of the cecum there is an opening of the vermiform appendix (ostium appendicis vermiformis), near which a crescent-shaped fold of the mucous membrane is often visible.
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