Lexic.us

Definition of Rectum

1. Noun. The terminal section of the alimentary canal; from the sigmoid flexure to the anus.

Definition of Rectum

1. n. The terminal part of the large intestine; -- so named because supposed by the old anatomists to be straight. See Illust. under Digestive.

Definition of Rectum

1. Noun. (anatomy) The terminal part of the large intestine through which feces pass. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Rectum

1. the terminal portion of the large intestine [n -TUMS or -TA]

Medical Definition of Rectum

1. The last portion of the large intestine (colon) that communicates with the sigmoid colon above and the anus below. (27 Sep 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Rectum

Literary usage of Rectum

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1919)
"The rectum is in close opposition with large pelvic vessels and nerves and ... It is in the lower portion of the rectum that haemorrhoids or piles and many ..."

2. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1893)
"She had suffered for many years from a prolapse of the rectum, for which no treatment had been of any avail. It was decided to perform the operation of ..."

3. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1919)
"The rectum has a mucous coat (membrane), gathered into transverse folds ... The tendency of specialists is to consider the rectum as only that part of the ..."

4. Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical by Henry Gray (1870)
"The rectum is divided into three portions, upper, middle, and lower. The rectum is the terminal part of the large intestine, and extends from the ..."

5. The Lancet (1898)
"A woman, aged forty-three years, came under my cure at Guy's Hospital in June, 1867, for a severe prolapse of the rectum associated with loss of blood after ..."

6. Medical Lexicon: A Dictionary of Medical Science : Containing a Concise by Robley Dunglison (1868)
"They are merely folds of the mucous membrane, between which is a number of Lacuale. The arteries of the rectum are numerous. They proceed from the inferior ..."

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