A portion of the large intestine before it becomes the rectum. In mammals, the colon is the most part of the large intestine, excluding the vermiform appendix, the rectum and the anal canal. [ http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2825-0621 http://zfin.org/curator http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6601-2165 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_(anatomy) ]

Synonyms: large bowel

This is just here as a test because I lose it

Term information

database cross reference
Subsets

uberon_slim, efo_slim, pheno_slim, vertebrate_core

editor note

TODO - abstract this such that it legitimately covers all vertebrates

Some references do not consider the caecum to be part of the colon.

external definition

The posterior intestine has short longitudinally arranged epithelial folds which are similar to the colon of higher vertebrates. Wallace et al, 2005.[TAO]

The last portion of the digestive system, it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body.[AAO]

function notes

it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body[WP]

has narrow synonym

posterior intestine

homology notes

Although all vertebrates have a digestive tract and accessory glands, various parts of this system are not necessarily homologous, analogous, or even present in all species. Therefore, broad comparisons can be best made under the listings of headgut, foregut, midgut, pancreas and biliary system, hindgut.[uncertain][VHOG]

id

UBERON:0001155

taxon notes

In zebrafish, the posterior intestine has short longitudinally arranged epithelial folds which are similar to the colon of higher vertebrates[ZFIN]

In mammals, the colon consists of four sections: the ascending colon, the transverse colon, the descending colon, and the sigmoid colon[WP]