Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Rectum |
RectumNoun1. The terminal section of the alimentary canal; from the sigmoid flexure to the anus. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "rectum" was first used: sometime in the early 15th century. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Health | The last 8 to 10 inches of the large intestine. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The rectum is the final portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus.
The rectum in human defecation
The rectum acts as a temporary storage facility for feces. As the rectal walls expand due to the materials filling it from within, stretch receptors from the nervous system located in the rectal walls stimulate the desire to defecate. If the urge is not acted upon, the material in the rectum is often returned to the colon where more water is absorbed. If defecation is delayed for a prolonged period constipation and hardened feces results.
When the rectum is full the increase in intrarectal pressure forces the walls of the anal canal apart allowing the fecal matter to enter the canal. The rectum shortens as material is forced into the anal canal and peristaltic waves propel the feces out of the rectum. The internal and external sphincters of the anus allow the feces to be passed by muscles pulling the anus up over the exiting feces.
See defecation for a fuller treatment.
Muscular anatomy of the human pelvis and rectum
The Levatores ani constrict the lower end of the rectum and vagina. They elevate and invert the lower end of the rectum after it has been protruded and everted during the expulsion of the feces. They are also muscles of forced expiration. The Coccygei pull forward and support the coccyx, after it has been pressed backward during defecation or parturition. The Levatores ani and Coccygei together form a muscular diaphragm which supports the pelvic viscera.
Anal sex
Anal sex or anal intercourse is human sexual behavior involving the anus and rectum, especially the insertion of the erect penis into the rectum via the anus.
See also: Gastrointestinal tract
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Rectum."
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | But, in order to keep from damaging the eye sockets, they've got to go in through the rectum. Ain't no man going to take that route with me (Hot Shots!; writing credit: Jim Abrahams; Pat Proft) This party sucks rectum, Jeannie (Van Wilder; writing credit: Brent Goldberg; David Wagner) Despite the fact that you're one large pain in the arse last night was the best thing that ever happened to me, girl wise, and if you weren't behaving like such a horses rectum you would know that we could be inside touching and fondling all day long until I've got to go to rehearsal (The Goodbye Girl; writing credit: Neil Simon) No, but my husband does have two pounds of hash in his rectum. (Just Married; writing credit: Sam Harper) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Line drawing showing colon, rectum, stomach, cecum, appendix, small intestine and anus. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | The neutrophils are apparently phagocytizing bacteria. The paired N. gonorrhoeae diplococci is the etiologic pathogen, a bacterium that grows and multiplies quickly in moist, warm areas of the body like the cervix, urethra, mouth, or rectum. Credit: CDC. |
 | Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore containing T. pallidum bacteria, and occurring mainly on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum. Credit: CDC. |  | Symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection, when signs do occur, typically appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers (sores) that may take two to four weeks to heal the first time they occur. Credit: CDC. |
 | N. gonorrhoeae, a gram-negative diplococcus, is the causative agent for Gonorrhea. These bacteria can infect the genital tract, the mouth, and the rectum. Credit: CDC. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | You have severe pain in the abdomen or rectum. (references) | |
Or stool may leak from the rectum unexpectedly. (references) | ||
Eventually these gases exit through the rectum. (references) | ||
Human Rights | Syria | Former prisoners and detainees report that torture methods include administering electrical shocks; pulling out fingernails; forcing objects into the rectum; beating, sometimes while the victim is suspended from the ceiling; hyperextending the spine; and using a chair that bends backwards to asphyxiate the victim or fracture the victim's spine. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Rectum" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Rectum" is used about 178 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 178 | 23,220 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expression using "rectum": Latus rectum. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "rectum"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | rektum, zorrë e trashë (colon, large intestine). (various references) | |
Arabic | المستقيم (straight), شرج (baste, tack, vent). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | ректум (recta). (various references) | |
Chinese | 直 (rectal). (various references) | |
Czech | koneèník. (various references) | |
Danish | oksefedtende (beef fatend). (various references) | |
Dutch | runder-veteind (beef fatend). (various references) | |
Farsi | مقعد (Anus, Croup), معامستقیم . (various references) | |
Finnish | peräsuoli. (various references) | |
French | rectum. (various references) | |
German | Mastdarm (rectal passage). (various references) | |
Greek | κώλοσ (arse, ass, bum), πρωκτόσ (anus), παχύ έντερο (large intestine). (various references) | |
Hebrew | פי "טבעת (anus), חלחולת (straight gut), כרכשת (large intestine). (various references) | |
Hungarian | végbél (anus, arse, ass, recta, rectal). (various references) | |
Indonesian | dubur (anus). (various references) | |
Italian | retto (honest, just, right, righteous, straightforward, upright), culari di manzo (beef fatend). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 直腸 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ちょくちょう. (various references) | |
Korean | 곧은창자. (various references) | |
Manx | thoyn (anus, arse, backside, behind, bottom, bum, buttock, seat, vent), thoanney (anal). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ectumray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | retro (recto), reto (direct, even, fair, honest, impartial, just, recto, righteous, rightful, sincere, single-eyed, single-minded, square, straight, straightaway, straightforward, virtuous). (various references) | |
Romanian | rect. (various references) | |
Russian | прямая кишка. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | rektum. (various references) | |
Spanish | recto (aright, correct, exact, exactly, forehand, honest, just, lined, proper, reach, right, single-breasted, straight, upright, upstanding), derecho (bolt upright, canoness, claim, direct, directly, erect, jurisdiction, law, legitimacy, onside, presumption, pretence, redress, right, standing, straight, straight ahead, title, upright), cular de buey (beef fatend). (various references) | |
Swedish | ändtarm. (various references) | |
Turkish | rektum (rectal), göden. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | пряма кишка. (various references) | |
Welsh | rhefr. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | intestinum rectum. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Proverbs Chapter 2, Verse 13 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | W oi egkataleiponteV odouV euqeiaV tou poreuesqai en odoiV skotouV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Qui relinquunt iter rectum et ambulant per vias tenebrosas |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Thei that forsaken the riyt going, and wenten bi derke weies; |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Who give up the way of righteousness, to go by dark roads; |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Proverbs Chapter 2, Verse 13 |
| Cebuano | Nga nagabiya sa mga alagianan nga matul-id, Aron sa paglakat sa mga dalan sa kangitngit; |
| Chinese | 那 等 人 捨 棄 正 直 的 路 、 行 走 黑 暗 的 " 、 |
| Croatian | od onih koji ostavljaju staze poštenja te idu mraènim putovima; |
| Danish | som går fra de lige Stier for at vandre på Mørkets Veje. |
| Dutch | Van degenen, die de paden der oprechtheid verlaten, om te gaan in de wegen der duisternis; |
| Finnish | niistä, jotka ovat hyljänneet oikeat polut vaeltaaksensa pimeyden teitä; |
| French | De ceux qui abandonnent les sentiers de la droiture Afin de marcher dans des chemins ténébreux, |
| German | die da verlassen die rechte Bahn und gehen finstere Wege, |
| Hungarian | A kik elhagyják az igazságnak útát, hogy járjanak a setétségnek útain. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Mereka tak mau mengikuti cara hidup yang baik; mereka mengambil jalan yang gelap dan penuh dosa. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | dari pada orang yang meninggalkan jalan betul, hendak menurut jalan-jalan yang gelap, |
| Italian | da coloro che abbandonano i retti sentieri per camminare nelle vie delle tenebre, |
| Korean | 이 무 리 " 직 한 길 을 나 어 두 운 길 로 행 하 며 |
| Maori | I te hunga e whakarere nei i nga ara o te tika, e haere ana i nga ara o te pouri; |
| Norwegian | fra dem som forlater rettvishets stier for å vandre på mørkets veier, |
| Portuguese | dos que deixam as veredas da retidão, para andarem pelos caminhos das trevas; |
| Rumanian | de ceice pqrqsesc cqrqrile adevqrate, ca sq umble pe drumuri kntunecoase; |
| Russian | ПФ ФЕИ, ЛПФПТЩЕ ПУФБЧМСАФ УФЕЪЙ ТСНЩЕ, ЮФП'Щ ИП"ЙФШ ХФСНЙ ФШНЩ; |
| Spanish | que abandonan las sendas derechas para andar en caminos tenebrosos, |
| Swedish | från dem som hava övergivit det rättas stigar. för att färdas på mörkrets vägar, |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "rectum": rectums. (additional references) | |
| |
"Rectum" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: ectomy, Erkum, gestum, Rechten, reclu, recrun, recte, recteur, recti, rectom, rectus, Rektum, Rustum, sectum. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "rectum" (pronounced re"ktum) |
| 4 | -k t u m | dictum, sanctum, victim. |
| 3 | -t u m | accustom, ageratum, antemortem, arboretum, atom, autumn, Bantam, bottom, momentum, phantom, quantum, centum, custom, datum, ecosystem, item, stratum, subsystem, symptom, system, totem, ultimatum, verbatim. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-e-m-r-t-u" | |
-1 letter: cruet, curet, cuter, eruct, muter, recut, truce. | |
-2 letters: cure, curt, cute, ecru, mure, mute, term, true. | |
-3 letters: cue, cum, cur, cut, ecu, emu, met, mut, rec, rem, ret, rue, rum, rut. | |
-4 letters: em, er, et, me, mu, re, um, ut. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-e-m-r-t-u" | |
+1 letter: centrum, chetrum, crumpet, rectums. | |
+2 letters: centrums, chetrums, commuter, computer, costumer, crumpets, customer, electrum, muricate, plectrum, spectrum, truckmen, turmeric. | |
+3 letters: bacterium, castoreum, commuters, computers, costumers, costumery, costumier, criterium, crumbiest, crummiest, customers, electrums, eurythmic, mercurate, micturate, mucronate, plectrums, recompute, recumbent, reticulum, rheumatic, smutchier, spectrums, tularemic, turmerics. | |
+4 letters: accruement, cafetorium, castoreums, circumvent, commixture, costumiers, coulometer, coulometry, counterman, countermen, countrymen, criteriums, crumbliest, crumpliest, customizer, documenter, ecotourism, eurhythmic, eurythmics, mercurated, mercurates, metacarpus, micturated, micturates, multicurie, outcharmed, outmarched, outmarches, precompute, procumbent, recomputed, recomputes, recoupment, rheumatics, sclerotium, securement, tautomeric, thumbscrew, volumetric. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Bible Trace 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
