Ascending colon

Last revised by Craig Hacking on 13 Oct 2022

The ascending colon is the second part of the large bowel.

The ascending colon is the continuation of the cecum superior to the ileocecal valve. It is secondarily retroperitoneal, although it has its own mesentery in approximately 25% of patients and is 15 cm in length 1,2.

The ascending colon courses up the right posterior abdominal wall until it reaches the level of the right kidney and courses anteromedially to form the hepatic flexure, where it continues as the transverse colon 1,2.

Lymph runs with the arteries to the paracolic lymph nodes, which drain into the superior mesenteric group 1.

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