caecum

2 definitions found

caecum - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  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]

caecum - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  caecum
      n 1: the cavity in which the large intestine begins and into
           which the ileum opens; "the appendix is an offshoot of the
           cecum" [syn: cecum, caecum, blind gut]