The caecum of monotremes and marsupials

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
SUMMARY.: A description is given of the caecal region of the gut in a number of monotremes and marsupials, covering most genera, some of which are now very rare and possibly even extinct. As in a previous memoir, particular attention is given to the peritoneal folds attached to the viscus and to its blood supply. Monotremes exhibit a simple caecum tethered by a single median fold, or none (e.g. Zaglossus). Marsupials as a group show a more complex arrangement, although, as in Primates, the caecum is typically anchored by a median anangious fold with flanking vascular folds on the morphologically sinistral and dextral sides. However, many complex specializations exist to modify this arrangement. One artery is typically the larger, and this is more often the sinistral than the dextral. The size of the caecum may possibly depend on some factor in the diet of the animal, but this cannot be simply the proportion of vegetable material it contains, nor is it the only factor concerned. Specialization within the viscus occurs in many marsupials, but never proceeds so far as to form an appendix caecalis.