34* SURGICAL APPLIED ANATOMY, tchap.xvn. 



cause the entire obliteration of the part (as after many 

 forms of so called typhlitis). 



It must be understood that the term ccecum is 

 applied to that part of the colon that lies below the 

 entrance of the ileum. The average breadth of the 

 adult caecum is 3 inches, its average length (vertical 

 measurement) 2^ inches. 



The caecum is usually lodged in the right iliac 

 fossa, and is so placed that its apex corresponds with 

 a point a little to the inner side of the middle of 

 Poupart's ligament. 



A slightly distended caecum so located may be 

 emptied by flexing the thigh upon the abdomen. The 

 caecum is always entirely invested by peritoneum. Its 

 posterior surface is never in connection with the 

 areolar tissue of the iliac fossa. The peritoneum is 

 reflected from the commencement of the ascending 

 colon on to the posterior parietes. The line of this 

 reflection varies, but is usually about a transverse 

 line between the level of the anterior superior iliac 

 spine and the summit of the iliac crest. The mobility 

 of the caecum depends mainly upon two conditions, 

 either upon the length of intestine that extends 

 between the tip of the caecum and the reflection of the 

 peritoneum above alluded to, or upon the presence of 

 an ascending meso-colon. A mobile caecum may hang 

 over the pelvic brim, or occupy the pelvis, or even 

 find its way into an inguinal hernia of the left side. 



The caecum is not infrequently found in an inguinal 

 or femoral hernia of the right side (caecal hernia). 

 Such hernia? are, except in a few rare instances, 

 provided with a proper and complete peritoneal sac. 



Foreign bodies that have been swallowed are very 

 apt to lodge in the caecum, and in that situation may 

 cause ulceration and even perforation of the bowel, 

 producing one form of typhlitis. 



In cases of faecal retention, also, the largest 



