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Colic Flexure

Colic means "of or relating to the colon" and flexure means "a curve or turn, as in a tubular organ," according to the Free Dictionary. The obscure medical term colic flexure therefore can be translated into laymen terms as "a bend in the colon." In fact, there are two important bends in the colon, which are both considered colic flexures.

  1. The Colon

    • The colon is the longest part of the large intestine. It is the approximately 1.5 meters long tube that food passes through while being digested before passing on to the rectum and anus.

    The Hepatic Flexure

    • The hepatic flexure is the sharp bend in the colon on the upper-right side of the abdomen, near the liver. It connects the ascending colon, through which food passes in an upward direction along the right side of the abdomen and the transverse colon, which crosses horizontally along the upper abdomen.

    The Splenic Flexure

    • The splenic flexure is the sharp bend in the colon on upper-left side of the abdomen, near the spleen. It connects the transverse colon and the descending colon, through which food passes in a downward direction along the left side of the abdomen.

    Splenic Flexure Syndrome

    • Splenic flexure syndrome refers to pain, gas, bloating and a sense of fullness experienced in the part of the body where the splenic flexure is located. The syndrome is thought to be caused by spasms and distention of the splenic flexure.

    Hepatic Flexure Syndrome

    • MyElectronicMd, a free online medical diagnosis resource, as well as other online medical resources, provide information on splenic flexure syndrome, but not on hepatic flexure syndrome, suggesting that problems related to this part of the body may be fairly rare.

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