<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> <P> The junction between the small intestine and the colon, called the ileocecal valve, is so small in some animals that it was not considered to be a connection between the small and large intestines . During a dissection, the colon could be traced from the rectum, to the sigmoid colon, through the descending, transverse, and ascending sections . The cecum is an end point for the colon with a dead - end portion terminating with the appendix . </P> <P> The connection between the end of the small intestine (ileum) and the start (as viewed from the perspective of food being processed) of the colon (cecum) is now clearly understood, and is called the ileocolic orifice . The connection between the end of the cecum and the beginning of the ascending colon is called the cecocolic orifice . </P>

Where does the small intestine join the large intestine