Anatomy of the cecum of the vole, microtus agrestis.

The anatomy of the cecum of the vole, Microtus agrestis, was investigated using macroscopic dissections, "wet" and dried total specimens, and correlated light, scanning and electron microscopy. The cecum of the vole reveals a series of structural differentiations including a mural lip in the ampulla ceci and a spiral fold in the corpus ceci. The mucosa covering the cecal wall possesses short, wide-opened crypts and differs from the classical descriptions of the large intestinal mucosa. Fine structural observations suggest the cecal epithelium to be capable of active absorption. The morphological findings are correlated with the herbivorous habit of the vole and compared with observations in the rabbit and other rodents.