Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The human appendix averages 9 cm (3.5 in) in length, ranging from 5 to 35 cm (2.0 to 13.8 in). The diameter of the appendix is 6 mm (0.24 in), and more than 6 mm (0.24 in) is considered a thickened or inflamed appendix. The longest appendix ever removed was 26 cm (10 in) long. [3]
A size of over 6 mm is both 95% sensitive and specific for appendicitis. [65] However, because the appendix can be filled with fecal material, causing intraluminal distention, this criterion has shown limited utility in more recent meta-analyses. [66]
It also includes the appendix, which is attached to the cecum. Its length is about 1.5 m, and the area of the mucosa in an adult human is about 2 m 2 (22 sq ft). [19] Its main function is to absorb water and salts. The colon is further divided into: Cecum (first portion of the colon) and appendix
Ileum, caecum and colon of rabbit, showing Appendix vermiformis on fully functional caecum The human vermiform appendix on the vestigial caecum. The appendix was once believed to be a vestige of a redundant organ that in ancestral species had digestive functions, much as it still does in extant species in which intestinal flora hydrolyze cellulose and similar indigestible plant materials. [10]
Anatomy figure: 37:03-08 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center—"Abdominal organs in situ." Anatomy figure: 37:06-09 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center—"The larger intestine." Anatomy figure: 39:05-09 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center—"The cecum with the distal portion of the ileum."
The appendix contains a small amount of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue which gives the appendix an undetermined role in immunity. However, the appendix is known to be important in fetal life as it contains endocrine cells that release biogenic amines and peptide hormones important for homeostasis during early growth and development. [39]
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Functionally, the human abdomen is where most of the digestive tract is placed and so most of the absorption and digestion of food occurs here. The alimentary tract in the abdomen consists of the lower esophagus , the stomach , the duodenum , the jejunum , ileum , the cecum and the appendix , the ascending , transverse and descending colons ...