Haustra

Haustra
Arteries of cecum and vermiform process.
Latin	haustra coli
Dorlands/Elsevier	h_03/12408675

The haustra (singular haustrum) of the colon are the small pouches caused by sacculation, which give the colon its segmented appearance. The taenia coli runs the length of the large intestine. Because the taenia coli is shorter than the intestine, the colon becomes sacculated between the taenia, forming the haustra. In between adjacent haustra are semi-lunar folds, known as the plicae semilunares.

Haustral contractions are slow segmenting movements that occur every 30 minutes. One haustrum distends as it fills, which stimulates muscles to contract, pushing the contents to the next haustrum.

External links

• SUNY Labs 39:13-0301 - "Intestines and Pancreas: Large Intestine"
• haustrum at eMedicine Dictionary
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 04967.000-2
• Radiology at anatrad.com

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.