It starts with a small pouch where the small bowel attaches to the colon and extends upward on the right side of the abdomen. It acts as a site for water absorption from the faeces, as a site for flatus to be stored before being expelled, and as a site of peristalsis. This section of the digestive tract represents the bodys most. The colon makes up the longest part of the large intestine.
The colon is further subdivided into ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid segments. Anatomically, the colon can be divided into four parts ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid. Witmer, phd professor of anatomy department of biomedical sciences college of osteopathic medicine. The anatomical structures of the gastrointestinal system work together to achieve three major goals. Small intestine university of tennessee college of medicine. The intestine is the site of most chemical digestive processes and the place where digested food materials are either absorbed for use by the body or collected into. The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in vertebrates. It extends from the inferior end of the sigmoid colon along the anterior surface of the sacrum and coccyx in the posterior of the pelvic cavity. Illustration picture of anatomy colon emedicinehealth. The large intestine extending from the ileocaecal junction to the anus is divided into three main parts. The large intestine colorectum begins at the cecum, which is a pouch approximately 23 inches long.
Sarcomas, lymphomas, and carcinoid tumors of the large intestine or. At its inferior end, the rectum tapers slightly before ending at the anus. Sigmoid colon definition, anatomy and function kenhub. The descending colon is located on the left side of the large intestine, extending from the bend below the spleen to the sigmoid colon. The components of the large intestine, which consists of the cecum, the appendix, and the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colons, the rectum and the anal canal. Anatomy and physiology of the colon general center. Utmck small intestine anatomy 270 to 290 cm duodenum 20 cm jejunum 100 to 110 cm ileum 150 to 160 cm mucosa has transverse folds plicae circulares jejunum starts at the ligament of treitz no obvious jejileal demarcation jejunum has.
Amicus, anatomy, colon, appendix, cecum, ascending, hepatic, flexure, transverse, splenic, descending, sigmoid, rectum. Thank you, for helping us keep this platform clean. The colon is divided into sections that include the cecum, ascending colon, hepatic flexure, transverse colon, splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid, and rectum. The focus of this gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology course is to teach you about the structures and functions of the gastrointestinal system and its accessory organs. The editors will have a look at it as soon as possible. This edition marks a significant change to the author team with the retirement of michael timmons and the addition of a fine colleague and excellent writer, judi nath. A revised description of the anatomy of the colon and rectum better. Anatomy and physiology of the colon and rectum springerlink. A brief description of the anatomy, including malrotation of the bowel, is accompanied by ctc images of the colon as well as extrinsic impressions on it. The colon and rectum make up the large intestine, which plays an important role in the bodys ability to process waste.
Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored as feces before being removed by defecation the colon is the largest portion of the large intestine, so many mentions of the large intestine and colon overlap in meaning whenever. Webmds colon anatomy page provides a detailed image and definition of the colon. National program of cancer registries education and. Knowledge of normal anatomy of the colon, its variants, and extrinsic impressions on it is essential for interpretation of 2d and 3d ctc images. The ascending colon travels up the right side of the abdomen. All data items are abstracted for lymphoma cases of colon and rectum, but they do not have a schema for ajcc staging.
The small bowel delivers the waste to the colon, or large bowel. The part that sits across the abdomen is called the transverse. It is the last part of the colon before the rectum. The caecum, vermiform appendix, ascending colon and proximal two thirds of the transverse colon develop from the midgut, whereas the distal one third of the. The rectum is the final segment of the large intestine that connects the colon to the anus. It stores fecal matter produced in the colon until the body is ready to eliminate the waste through the process of defecation. The colon is divided into sections that include the cecum, ascending colon, hepatic flexure, transverse colon, splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid, and. The descending colon travels downward in the abdomen and is followed by the sigmoid colon, which curves inward and follows an sshaped path. The colon and rectum are parts of the digestive system also known as the gastrointestinal system or gi.
Colon anatomy and development the adult colon is about 5 feet long. It begins from the caecum at the ileocecal valve and ends in the rectum. Amicus, anatomy, abdomen, abdominal, contents, liver, fundus, stomach, pylorus, gallbladder, colon, intestines. It is a sort of a tube made of muscles, connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves and lymphatic tissue. Pdf this chapter will discuss the anatomy of the rectum and pelvis as it relates to the diagnosis and surgical management of rectal cancer. Get a printable copy pdf file of the complete article 1. The anatomy of the large intestine request pdf researchgate. Human anatomy 9th edition pdf welcome to the ninth edition of human anatomy. While there is universal agreement about the major sections of the colon, the nomenclature of the lower portion of the large bowel has been a subject of some disagreement. Blood supply to colon from superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. The descending colon stores the food to be emptied into the. It receives digested food from the small intestine, from which it absorbs water and electrolytes to form faeces. It is 5 feet long and its function is to reabsorb water from digested food and concentrate solid waste material, known as stool. Intestine, tubular part of the alimentary canal that extends from the stomach to the anus.
As the stool moves through the colon, the fluids are removed and absorbed into the body. Inflammatory bowel disease ibd is a chronic inflammatory condition of gastrointestinal tract. Anatomy, structure, and pathology of the small intestine. The major functions of the colon are to absorb water and salts from partially digested food that enters from the small bowel and then send waste out of the body through the anus. The rectum anatomy of the rectum physiology of the. The large intestine includes the colon, but also includes the cecum, vermiform appendix, rectum, and anal canal. The colon makes up the first 5 to 6 feet of the large intestine, and the rectum makes up the last 6 inches, ending at the anus see medical illustrations. Learn about its function, location, and conditions that affect the colon. Anatomy anatomy the lower gastrointestinal tract may be divided into the cecum, the ascending colon, the transverse colon, the descending colon, the sigmoid colon and the rectum. The consistency of the stool is dependent upon many things, including how long the.
Macroscopic anatomical dissections were performed on 111 adult fresh cadavers with emphasis on the vascular anatomy of the right colon. The anatomy of the colon starts after the cecum and ends before the rectum. The term colon is often used to refer to the entire large intestine the colon extends from the cecum an enlarged area at the end of the small intestine up the right side of the abdomen ascending colon, across to the left side transverse colon, and down the left side descending colon and then loops at the sigmoid flexure, or. However it can be shortened and lie quite flexibly in case of an incomplete rotation of the umbilical loop during embryogenesis. The tubelike digestive system canal that extends from the mouth to the anus is the canal. Cases with lymphoma of the colon or rectum may be analyzed separately from the other colon and rectum cases.
The sigmoid colon crosses the pelvic brim to enter the pelvic cavity where it becomes continuous with the rectum. The entire colon is about 5 feet 150 cm long, and is divided into five major segments. Connects ascending colon at hepatic right colic flexure to the descending colon at the splenic left colic flexure. Adult fresh cadavers were dissected between january 20 and october 2015, focusing on the venous and arterial anatomy of the right side of the colon. Variations in the vascular anatomy of the right colon and. The rectum is the last anatomic segment before the anus the ascending and descending colon are supported by peritoneal folds called mesentery the right colon consists of the cecum, ascending colon, hepatic flexure and the right half of the transverse colon. Anatomy and physiology of the large intestine video.
Anatomy and embryology of the colon, rectum, and anus. Anatomy blood supply to colon from superior and inferior mesenteric arteries junctionrelatively poor blood supply rectumthree sourcesima, internal iliac, internal pudendal venous drainage of rectum to imvportal and to systemic circulation connected by venous cushionsrrhoids. The colic tributaries of the superior mesenteric artery and vein were. The large intestine colorectum begins at the cecum, which is a. Anatomy anatomy the lower gastrointestinal tract is divided into the cecum, ascending, transverse, descending colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum. It connects to the small bowel, which is also known as the small intestine. Links to pubmed are also available for selected references. Anatomy anatomy, structure, and pathology of the small intestine small bowel see online here the small intestine latin. Written and edited by expert surgeons in collaboration with a worldrenowned anatomist, this exquisitely illustrated reference consolidates surgical, anatomical and technical knowledge for the entire human body in a single volume. Anatomy of the caecum, appendix and colon sciencedirect. For descriptive purposes the large intestine is divided, successively, into the caecum and appendix, colon, rectum and anal canal. In this article we will discuss the anatomy of the sigmoid colon including its blood supply, venous drainage. Colon and pelvic floor anatomy and physiology sciencedirect. Ascending colon lies in the right lower quadrant of trunk.
Other histologies in colon and rectum include mucinous adenocarcinoma, signet ring cell adenocarcinoma, and lymphoma. Full text full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Clinical anatomy of the large intestine lawrence m. It is a hollow muscular tube which carries out a number of digestive functions. We have made significant changes to every chapter of the. The colon is a 56 foot long muscular tube that delivers stool to the rectum. The section known as the ascending colon starts at the cecum and extends upward on the right side of the abdomen to just underneath the liver. The colon is a cylindrical tube that is lined by moist, soft pink lining called mucosa. Ulcerative colitis uc and crohns disease cd are its two major. The colon is the largest part of the large intestine, extending from the cecum to the rectum. Skandalakis surgical anatomy 2004 free taenia omental taenia mesenteric. The rectum is a hollow muscular tube about 8 inches 20 cm in length and 2.