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Pyloric caecum
A pyloric caecum (pl. pyloric caeca) is a structure in the digestive system found in fish, insects, and starfish. This term has a different meaning depending on the organism.
Fish pyloric caecum is a tubular pouch opening into the alimentary canal, originally described by Aristotle [1]. Caeca of mammals and birds serve as fermentation chambers, but those in fish are adaptation to increase gut surface area (i.e., main function of fish pyloric caeca is digestion and absorption).
Definitions in the literature
- Along the proximal intestine of many fish species are blind diverticula termed pyloric caeca. Over 2000 years ago, Aristotle described them in detail, recognized their distinction from the distaly placed intestinal caeca of birds and mammals, and speculated that their function was "to store up the food as it might be in additional cellars and there putrify it up and concoct it." [1]
