Editing Large intestine (section)

{{short description|Last part of the digestive system in vertebrates}}
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name        = Large intestine
| Latin       = colon or intestinum crassum
| Caption     = Front of [[abdomen]], showing the large intestine, with the [[stomach]] and [[small intestine]] in gray.
| Precursor   = 
| PartOf      = [[Gastrointestinal tract]]
| System      = [[Digestion|Digestive system]]
| Artery      = [[Superior mesenteric artery|Superior mesenteric]], [[Inferior mesenteric artery|inferior mesenteric]] and [[Internal iliac artery|iliac arteries]]
| Vein        = [[Superior mesenteric vein|Superior]] and [[inferior mesenteric vein]]
| Nerve       = 
| Lymph       = [[Inferior mesenteric lymph nodes]]
|Image=Tractus intestinalis intestinum crassum.svg|Width=200}}
{{Gastrointestinal tract sidebar}}
The '''large intestine''', also known as the '''large bowel''', is the last part of the [[gastrointestinal tract]] and of the [[Digestion|digestive system]] in [[tetrapod]]s. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the [[rectum]] as [[feces]] before being removed by [[defecation]].<ref name="NCILargeIntestineDef">{{cite web |title=Small & Large Intestine {{!}} SEER Training |url=https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/digestive/regions/intestine.html |website=training.seer.cancer.gov |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref> The [[Colon (anatomy)|colon]] (progressing from the [[ascending colon]] to the [[transverse colon|transverse]], the [[descending colon|descending]] and finally the [[sigmoid colon]]) is the longest portion of the large intestine, and the terms "large intestine" and "colon" are often used interchangeably, but most sources define the large intestine as the combination of the [[cecum]], colon, [[rectum]], and [[anal canal]].<ref name='NCILargeIntestineDef'/><ref name="Kapoor2011">{{cite web | url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1948929-overview | title=Large Intestine Anatomy | publisher=WebMD LLC. | work=Medscape | date=13 Jul 2011 | access-date=2013-08-20 | author=Kapoor, Vinay Kumar | editor=Gest, Thomas R.}}</ref><ref name="GrayLargeIntestine">{{cite book | url=http://www.bartleby.com/107/ | title=Gray's Anatomy | publisher=Lea & Febiger | author=Gray, Henry | author-link=Henry Gray | year=1918 | location=Philadelphia}}</ref> Some other sources exclude the anal canal.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=large intestine|dictionary=Mosby's Medical Dictionary|year=2009|edition=8th|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=9780323052900|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780323052900}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | title=intestine | dictionary=Concise Medical Dictionary|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199557141}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | title=large intestine | dictionary=A Dictionary of Biology | year=2013 | publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199204625}}</ref>

In humans, the large intestine begins in the right [[iliac region]] of the [[pelvis]], just at or below the [[waist]], where it is joined to the end of the [[small intestine]] at the cecum, via the [[ileocecal valve]]. It then continues as the colon [[ascending colon|ascending]] the [[abdomen]], across the width of the [[abdominal cavity]] as the [[transverse colon]], and then [[descending colon|descending]] to the rectum and its endpoint at the  [[anal canal]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Large intestine|url=http://www.gesa.org.au/content.asp?id=100|access-date=2016-07-24|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150828202413/http://www.gesa.org.au/content.asp?id=100|archive-date=2015-08-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> Overall, in humans, the large intestine is about {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0}} long, which is about one-fifth of the whole length of the human gastrointestinal tract.<ref>{{Cite book | last1=Drake | first1=R.L. | last2=Vogl | first2=W. | last3=Mitchell | first3=A.W.M. | title=Gray's Anatomy for Students | date=2010|publisher=Churchill Livingstone|location=Philadelphia}}</ref>