Taenia libera

Looks like

The 'free' ribbon of lengthwise muscle on the front of the colon, with no fold attached to it.

What it does

Shortens the colon and shapes the pouches that knead and move stool.

Keeping it well

Visible on the colon's surface in surgery; followed down, it leads to the appendix.

Related conditions

• Acute mesenteric ischaemia (gut stroke)
• Appendicitis
• Botulism
• Bowel obstruction
• Chagas disease
• Chronic constipation
• Clostridioides difficile colitis
• Colon polyps
• Colorectal cancer
• Crohn's disease
• Diverticular disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Food poisoning
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Gastroenteritis
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Heat exhaustion & heatstroke
• Hereditary cancer syndromes (BRCA, Lynch)
• Infant colic
• Intussusception & pyloric stenosis
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Liver abscess (pyogenic and amoebic)
• Malnutrition & refeeding syndrome
• Microscopic colitis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Necrotising enterocolitis
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Sarcoma
• Sarcopenia
• Tetanus
• Typhoid & cholera
• Ulcerative colitis