Large intestine

The large intestine is also called the colon or large bowel. It connects the small intestine to the rectum and anus. It is about 1.5 meters long or 5 feet. It is shorter than the small intestine, but its diameter is larger.

Large intestine
Front of abdomen, showing the large intestine, with the stomach and small intestine in gray outline.
Front of abdomen, showing surface markings for liver (red), and the stomach and large intestine (blue). The large Intestine is like an upside down U.
Latin	Colon or intestinum crassum
System	Digestive system
Artery	Superior mesenteric, inferior mesenteric and iliac arteries
Vein	Superior and inferior mesenteric vein
Lymph	Inferior mesenteric lymph nodes

Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored as faeces before being removed by defecation.

Large Intestine Media

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  Illustration of the large intestine.

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  Inner diameters of colon sections

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  3D File generated from computed tomography of large intestine

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  Colonic crypts (intestinal glands) within four tissue sections. The cells have been stained to show a brown-orange color if the cells produce the mitochondrial protein cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (CCOI), and the nuclei of the cells (located at the outer edges of the cells lining the walls of the crypts) are stained blue-gray with haematoxylin.

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  Large intestine histology

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  Colonoscopy image, splenic flexure,normal mucosa. You can see spleen through it : the black part

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  Micrograph of normal large instestinal crypts.

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  Anatomy of normal large intestinal crypts

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  Colon. Deep dissection. Anterior view.