COLON
Figure 14­72
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The large intestine, or colon, consists of the cecum, ascending, transverse, descending, sigmoid, rectal, and anal
Holdings,
regions. The colon functions primarily in the absorption of water from the undigested mass of food material that has
been passed to it from the small intestine, where the digestive processes have occurred.
LLC.
In this low-magnification image of the entire wall of the colon, observe that the surface next to the lumen is relatively
uniform. There are no villi in the large intestine. However, crypts of Lieberkühn persist throughout the length of the
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The external layer of smooth muscle is not a consistent feature of the wall. This tissue forms three longitudinal bands
of smooth muscle called taenia coli (arrow). This feature of the colon is shown more clearly in Fig. 14­75.
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