General Comparative Anatomy of the Large Intestines
The large intestine consists of the cecum, the colon (ascending, descending and transverse), and the rectum.
Cecum:
The cecum is a blind sac of the large intestine that opens into the colon at the ileal orifice. The cecum is shortest in the cat, but it is increasingly longer in the dog, pig, ruminants, and horse. In carnivores, ruminants, and horse the cecum lies in the right side of the abdominal cavity, whereas in the pig it is on the left. The vermiform appendix is absent on the ceca of domestic animals, however, hare and rabbit have an appendix.
Colon:
The colon begins at the cecocolic orifice and terminates at the rectum at the pelvic inlet. It is divided into ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon. In all domestic species the transverse colon is always found passing from right to left cranial to the cranial mesenteric artery. The ascending colon is much longer and considerably modified than that of carnivores. In the pig it forms a cone-shaped coil, in the ruminants it forms a flat, disc-shaped coil, and in the horse it is doubled on itself twice and forms a large horseshoe-shaped loop.
Rectum:
The rectum is the straight terminal part of the alimentary canal in the pelvic cavity. It terminates at the short anal canal.