Colon Information
The "Colon" is the name often used to refer to the "Large Intestine", however that is incorrect as the colon is only part of the large intestine. The colon, combined with the cecum and rectum comprise the large intestine.
The Colon is located in the abdominal cavity, and comprises four parts. Namely:
- Ascending colon
- Transverse colon
- Descending colon
- Sigmoid colon
The large intestine forms part of the digestive tract. It's approximately 1.5 meters in length. The large intestine is mainly responsible for:
- reclaiming water
- storing waste
- absorbing vitamins (such as Vit. K)
- maintaining water balance
For a really detailed encyclopaedic review of the Colon and the intestines, please check out this page on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_(anatomy)
Fig 1: The anatomy of the abdomen, including the large intestine (and thus the colon).
