The cecum (caecum), is the first portion of the large bowel, situated in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen.

The cecum receives fecal material from the small bowel (ileum) which opens into it.

The word cecum comes from the Latin caecus, "blind". This refers to the fact that the bottom of the cecum is a blind pouch (a cul de sac) which doesn't go any where.