Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The terminal portion of the large intestine, extending from the sigmoid colon to the anal canal.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In anatomy and zoology, a terminal section of the intestine, ending in the anus: so called from its comparatively straight course in man; the lower bowel: more fully called intestinum rectum. In man the rectum is the continuation of the sigmoid flexure of the colon, beginning about opposite the promontory of the sacrum, a little to the left side, and running through the pelvis to the anus. It is supported by a proper duplication of peritoneum, the mesorectum, and other fasciæ. Its structure includes well-developed longitudinal and circular muscular fibers, the latter being aggregated into a stout internal sphincter muscle near the lower end. In animals whose colon has no special sigmoid flexure there is no distinction of a rectum from the rest of the large intestine; and the term applies only to any given or taken terminal section of the bowel, of whatever character. In mammals above monotremes the rectum is entirely shut off from the urogenital organs, ending in a distinct anus; but in most animals it ends in a cloaca common to the digestive and urogenital systems. The rectum receives the refuse of digestion, and retains the feces until voided. See cats under intestine, peritoneum, Pulmonata, Pycnogonida, Appendicularia, and Blattidæ.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Anat.) The terminal part of the large intestine; -- so named because supposed by the old anatomists to be straight. See
Illust. under digestive.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the terminal section of the alimentary canal; from the sigmoid flexure to the anus
Etymologies
- From New Latin rectum, abbreviation of Latin rectum intestinum ("the straight intestine"), rectum, neuter of rectus ("straight"). See right. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Latin (intestīnum) rēctum, straight (intestine), neuter of rēctus. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Biology: The lining of the rectum is very thin and a ready route for disease and easy to rupture during the vigorous thrusting of anal sex — easy to contaminate your blood with fecal matter – the sphincter muscle of the anus can be damaged by too many intrusions making one incontinent – hemorrhoids and anal sex are surely incompatible.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Sex Education, Dirty Words, and the Due Process Clause
“Iraqi man with magnet in rectum causes bomb scare at LAX - Boing Boing”
“At the opened pelvic bone, use a sharp knife to make cuts to free the large intestine and rectum from the pelvic area.”
“Terry’s outrageous public statements - “A man putting his penis in another man’s rectum is not the basis for civil rights,” he said at his first news conference - had two results.”
“In 1983, very early in the epidemic, Joseph Sonnabend, MD, famously and courageously said, "the rectum is a sexual organ and it deserves the respect a penis gets and a vagina gets.”
The Huffington Post: Sean Strub: 'It's Never Just HIV' Ad Campaign Oversimplifies the Issue
“A man having a banana shoved into his rectum is a $12 billion a year Business.”
“The anal canal leads to your rectum, which is also made up of erectile tissue and which, like your anal canal, loves the feeling of being pressed and massaged.”
Simon & Schuster: The Straight Girl's Guide to Sleeping with Chicks
“The appliances in general use have one very serious fault, the water is discharged into the lower part of the rectum, which is distended, and thus produces an irritation which often proves injurious, causing and aggravating piles and other rectal troubles.”
No Animal Food and Nutrition and Diet with Vegetable Recipes
“The lower part of the rectum is a little shorter than the upper part, and begins at the tip of the coccyx and extends down with the same curve as the upper part, terminating at the upper portion of the anal canal.”
“The rectum is the terminal portion of the intestinal tract.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rectum’.
-
Words that shouldn't be used on a fir...
probation, trekkie, wart, unemployed, fetish, suspended driver'..., felon, aerophagia, undies, debt collector, girlfriend, boyfriend and 272 more...
-
Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
-
FTL
Words listed first by me that don't belong in any other list.
licit, precis, mnemosyne, badinage, mariposa, lepidoptera, coruscation, poignant, meme, oxymoron, xenophobia, asterism and 128 more...
-
Words I will probably never use
décolleté, pendragon, amerce, viviparous, dragoon, brigand, outlaw, outlawry, lugubrious, boor, contretemps, decrepit and 167 more...
-
Ugliest Words Ever
words that I refuse to say out loud.
tuna, uranus, bulbous, vaginal, rectum, cunnilingus, flatulance, pedagogy, blooper, booger, beefy, polyp and 116 more...
-
Human Anatomical Terms
Human bits 'n' pieces.
vas deferens, incus, crypts of lieberkühn, patella, pancreas, scaphoid, appendix, rectum, caecum, vagina, hip, ear and 46 more...
-
Davidov06's Words
leid, supervene, bouleversement, precipice, stalagtite, stalagmite, exist, co-exist, coil, pill, rectum, antelope and 61 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for rectum.
sonofgroucho You do surprise me! Sep 30, 2007
oroboros added only so I could comment: "Rectum? Hell! Killed 'im." Ah, the salad days of grade-school bus-ride jokes. Dec 31, 2006