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colon |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.04 sec. |
colon, in anatomycolon, in anatomy: see intestine intestine, muscular hoselike portion of the gastrointestinal tract extending from the lower end of the stomach (pylorus) to the anal opening. In humans this fairly narrow (about 1 in./2...... Click the link for more information. . colon, in punctuationcolon, in writing: see punctuation punctuation [Lat.,=point], the use of special signs in writing to clarify how words are used; the term also refers to the signs themselves. In every language, besides the sounds of the words that are strung together there are other features, such as tone, accent, and..... Click the link for more information. . colonSegment that makes up most of the large intestine. Though the two terms are often used interchangeably, the colon technically excludes the cecum (a pouch at the beginning of the large intestine), rectum, and anal canal. It runs up the right side of the abdomen (ascending colon), across it (transverse colon), and down the left side (descending colon); its last section (sigmoid colon) joins the rectum. It has no digestive function but lubricates waste products, absorbs remaining fluids and salts, and stores waste products until excretion. Problems involving the colon include ulcerative colitis, constipation and diarrhea, gas discomfort, megacolon (enlarged colon), and cancer. colonIn programming, the colon (:) is used to separate parts of an address. For example, the first part of 1AAA:1FFF might be a segment address and the second part the actual offset within the segment. colon1 (in classical prosody) a part of a rhythmic period with two to six feet and one principal accent or ictus colon2 the part of the large intestine between the caecum and the rectum colon [′kō·lən] (anatomy) The portion of the human intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum; it is divided into four sections: ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid. Also known as large intestine. Colon The portion of the intestine that runs from the cecum to the rectum; in some mammals, it may be separated from the small intestine by an ileocecal valve. It is also known as the large intestine. The colon is usually divided into ascending, transverse, and descending portions. In the human a fourth section, the sigmoid, is found. The colon is longer in herbivores and shorter in carnivores, and is about 4 to 6 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m) long in humans. No digestive enzymes are secreted in the colon. Much digestion (for example, all breakdown of cellulose) occurs by bacteria, of which Escherichia coli is the most common. Most of the fluid added to the food during digestion is reabsorbed into the body in the colon. All digestive action, water absorption, and so on, is completed before the food materials pass out of the colon into the rectum. See Digestive system
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