<P> In herbivores, the cecum stores food material where bacteria are able to break down the cellulose . This function no longer occurs in the human cecum (see appendix), so in humans it is simply a dead - end pouch forming a part of the large intestine . </P> <P> The cecum and appendix are formed by the enlargement of the postarterial segment of the midgut loop . The proximal part of the bud grows rapidly to form the cecum . The lateral wall of the cecum grows much more rapidly than the medial wall, with the result that the point of attachment of the appendix comes to lie on the medial side . </P> <P> The term cecum comes from the Latin caecum, literally "blind", here in the sense "blind gut" or "cul de sac". </P> <P> In dissections by the Greek philosophers, the connection between the ileum of the small intestines and the cecum was not fully understood . Most of the studies of the digestive tract were done on animals and the results were compared to human structures . </P>

Where does small intestine connect to large intestine