Structure/ Morphology
The ileocecal lip is the inferior fold that forms the lower portion of the ileal orifice.
It’s composed of all the layers that make up the walls of the intestines folded back upon themselves. Thus, the mucosa, submucosa, and muscular layers of the terminal ileum lay internally against, in a mirror image fashion, the same layers of the colon within the lumen of the colon (Standring, 2016).
Related parts of the anatomy
Key Features/Anatomical Relations
The ileocecal lip is the lower fold that forms the ileal orifice in the lumen of the colon. It’s located at the junction of the ileum and colon, and roughly at the junction between the cecum and ascending colon.
Function
Together with the ileocolic lip, the ileocecal lip forms the frenulum of the ileal orifice and prevents material from passing retrogradely into the ileum (Moore, Dalley and Agur, 2013).
References
Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F. and Agur, A. M. R. (2013) Clinically Oriented Anatomy. Clinically Oriented Anatomy 7th edn.: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Standring, S. (2016) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Gray's Anatomy Series 41 edn.: Elsevier Limited.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Ileocecal Valve
The medially placed ileocecal valve may produce a soft tissue indentation, so that the gas-filled cecum has the appearance of a coffee bean or kidney (Fig. 16-7B).
