LARGE INTESTINE

=Large Intestine= [image:http://i.imgur.com/fxCE4DQ.png?1] The large intestine is the last part of the digestive system. Its function is to ''absorb water'' and rid the body of any remaining waste material. The large intestine is also commonly referred to as the colon. It also includes the cecum, appendix and rectum (they are technically parts of the large intestine). ==Caecum== [image:http://i.imgur.com/soB6mai.png?1] The Caecum is the first part of the large intestine. In herbivores, the cecum stores food material where bacteria are able to break down the cellulose. Cellulose is a carbohydrate that forms a large part of most herbivore diets. Technically cellulose is a form of dietary fibre (indigestible portion of food) because no mammals produce the enzymes that are required to break it down. In herbivores, the caecum is enlarged and houses bacteria that produce ''cellulase'' an enzyme that breaks down cellulose into sugars. In this way herbivores are actually able to digest cellulose. This function no longer occurs in the human cecum, so in humans it simply forms a part of the large intestine (colon). ==Appendix== [image:http://i.imgur.com/HDLonpe.png?1] The appendix is a small, dead-end tube that is connected to the caecum. It's true function is still unknown. Many scientists believe that it is a vestigial structure, a structure that has lost its function during our evolution. The appendix may be be a shrunken remainder of a once larger caecum that was used to help digest plant material in our diet. Other scientist believe that it may be a "safe house" for beneficial bacteria in the recovery from diarrhoea. ==Rectum== [image:http://i.imgur.com/2qlmH73.png?1] The rectum temporary stores faeces (undigested wastes) and helps to expel them from the body. The rectum terminates at a sphincter (a muscular ring) called the anus that ultimately controls the release of wastes.