LARGE INTESTINE (COLON)

This includes the cecum; the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon; and the rectum. It converts undigested material received from the small intestine into feces by removing water and adding mucus. The colon is shorter than the small intestine and has a wider lumen. The colon's lining has no folds, except in the rectum. No villi are present. The epithelium is simple columnar with a great abundance of goblet cells. The mucosa has many deep crypts of Leiberkuhn, containing abundant goblet cells and few enteroendocrine cells.