part of part of continuous_with develops_from contributes to morphology of large intestine proximal-distal subdivision of colon midgut caecum A cecum is present in most amniote species, and also in lungfish, but not in any living species of amphibian. In reptiles, it is usually a single median structure, arising from the dorsal side of the large intestine. Birds typically have two paired ceca, as, unlike other mammals, do hyraxes. Most mammalian herbivores have a relatively large cecum, hosting a large number of bacteria, which aid in the enzymatic breakdown of plant materials such as cellulose; in many species, it is considerably wider than the colon. In contrast, obligatory carnivores, whose diets contain little or no plant material, have a reduced cecum, which is often partially or wholly replaced by the vermiform appendix. Many fish have a number of small outpocketings, called pyloric ceca, along their intestine; despite the name they are not homologous with the cecum of amniotes, and their purpose is to increase the overall area of the digestive epithelium.[2] Some invertebrates, such as squid,[3] may also have structures with the same name, but these have no relationship with those of vertebrates. A pouch in the digestive tract that connects the ileum with the ascending colon of the large intestine. It is separated from the ileum by the ileocecal valve, and is the beginning of the large intestine. It is also separated from the colon by the cecocolic junction. BTO:0000166 CALOHA:TS-0122 EFO:0000850 EHDAA2:0000206 EHDAA:3913 EMAPA:35197 EV:0100397 FMA:14541 GAID:307 Kardong: in some herbivorous lizards, a cecum is present between small and large intestines MA:0000334 MESH:A03.492.411.495.209 MIAA:0000288 OpenCyc:Mx4rve6u4JwpEbGdrcN5Y29ycA UBERON:0001153 UMLS:C0007531 VHOG:0001559 blind intestine blindgut caeca caecal caecum ceca cecum galen:Cecum intestinum caecum intestinum crassum caecum intestinum crassum cecum uberon colon ascending colon digestive tract diverticulum