Colon

The colon of the large intestine is the last part of the digestive system.

It has a segmented appearance due to a series of saccules called haustra.

It extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body and is the site in which the fermentation of unabsorbed material by the gut microbiota occurs.

Unlike the small intestine, the colon does not play a major role in absorption of foods and nutrients.

About 1.5 litres or 45 ounces of water arrives in the colon each day.

The colon is the longest part of the large intestine and its average length in the adult human is 65 inches or 166 cm (range of 80 to 313 cm) for males, and 61 inches or 155 cm (range of 80 to 214 cm) for females

The four sections of the colon are:

• the ascending colon,
• transverse colon,
• descending colon,
• and sigmoid colon.

These sections turn at the colic flexures.