Ileocecal junction at a glance
- What it is
- The ileocecal junction is where the terminal ileum opens into the cecum of the large intestine.
- Location
- It lies in the right iliac fossa, on the posteromedial wall of the cecum.
- Function
- It regulates passage of material into the large intestine and helps prevent reflux back into the ileum.
- Body system
- Digestive · single, midline structure
- FMA ID
- FMA11338 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- The ileocecal valve has two lips with thickened circular muscle. Whether it acts as a true sphincter is debated.
- After a meal it relaxes as part of the gastroileal reflex.
Clinical relevance
The ileocecal region is a common site of Crohn disease and intestinal tuberculosis, and of ileocolic intussusception in children.
Structures next to the ileocecal junction
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Mesoappendix · digestive
- Anterior cecal artery · cardiovascular
- Appendicular artery · cardiovascular
- Appendix · digestive
- Sigmoid vein · cardiovascular
- Sigmoid artery · cardiovascular
- Testicular vein · cardiovascular
- External iliac artery · cardiovascular
- Psoas major · muscular
- Testicular artery · cardiovascular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Ileocecal junction (FMA11338). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §23.1 Overview of the Digestive System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.