Haustra of colon

The haustra of the colon (singular haustrum) are the small pouches caused by sacculation, which give the colon its segmented appearance. The taenia coli runs the length of the large intestine. Because the taenia coli is shorter than the intestine, the colon becomes sacculated between the taenia, forming the haustra.

Haustral contractions are slow segmenting movements that occur every 25 minutes. One haustrum distends as it fills, which stimulates muscles to contract, pushing the contents to the next haustrum.