Ileums

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Final sections of the small intestine where most remaining nutrients are absorbed before material passes into the large bowel
2. The lower segments of the small intestine, located between the jejunum and the cecum, through which digested food is taken into the body
3. Lengths of the coiled tubular organ that forms the end of the small intestine and absorbs vitamin B12 and bile salts from digested matter

Etymology: "Ileums" is simply the plural of "ileum", the name for the lowest and longest part of the small intestine. The singular comes via Medieval Latin from the Latin "ilia", a plural word meaning the groin, flanks or lower guts, which is why the anatomical term is itself a plural in origin. English took the Medieval Latin form and used it as a singular noun, so the plural "ileums" follows ordinary English practice, while the Latin ancestor "ilia" survives as the plural used for the same organ in older medical texts.