A pouch-like structure called the cecum is located at the beginning of the large intestine. It is located just below the area where the small intestine merges with the large intestine. A narrow, closed-end tube called the appendix, which has no known digestive function, projects downward from the cecum.

The ascending colon begins at the cecum and rises upward in the abdomen until it reaches a point near the liver.

The transverse colon begins where the ascending colon turns, forming a part of the colon that runs from the right to the left side of the body. It is the longest and most flexible portion of the colon. The transverse colon is suspended by a fold in the peritoneum, and sags in the middle beneath the stomach.

Near the spleen, the descending colon arises from the transverse colon. It passes downward until it approaches the pelvis, where it merges with the sigmoid colon.

The sigmoid colon is an S-shaped portion of the large intestine that originates at the bottom of the descending colon and merges with the rectum.