cecum

or cae·cum

[ see-kuhm ]

noun,plural ce·ca [see-kuh]. /ˈsi kə/. Anatomy, Zoology.
  1. a cul-de-sac, especially that in which the large intestine begins.

Origin of cecum

1
1715–25; short for Latin intestinum caecum blind gut

Other words from cecum

  • cecal, adjective
  • ce·cal·ly, adverb
  • sub·ce·cal, adjective

Words Nearby cecum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cecum in a sentence

  • It lives in the large intestine, especially the cecum, with its slender extremity embedded in the mucous membrane.

    A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
  • One of them may occupy the cecum, another the transverse colon, and possibly a third the sigmoid flexure.

    Intestinal Ills | Alcinous Burton Jamison
  • These two occur in the small intestine; a form intermediate in size may also be found in the cecum and colon.

    Special Report on Diseases of the Horse | United States Department of Agriculture
  • The latter is somewhat smaller and is found in the cecum and large intestine.

    Special Report on Diseases of Cattle | U.S. Department of Agriculture

British Dictionary definitions for cecum

cecum

/ (ˈsiːkəm) /


nounplural -ca (-kə)
  1. US a variant spelling of caecum

Derived forms of cecum

  • cecal, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cecum

cecum

[ kəm ]


Plural ceca
  1. A large pouch forming the beginning of the large intestine. The appendix and the ileum of the small intestine both connect to the cecum.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.