'retrocecal' originates from Latin and New Latin: the prefix 'retro-' from Latin 'retro' meaning 'back' or 'behind', and 'cecal' from Latin 'caecum' (via New/Medieval Latin) meaning 'blind (gut)'.

'retrocecal' formed in medical New Latin by combining 'retro-' + 'cecal' (from Latin 'caecum' → Medieval/Medical Latin 'caecalis'/'caecum'), and entered modern English in medical usage as 'retrocecal' (also spelled 'retrocaecal' in British usage).

Initially a literal compound meaning 'behind the cecum'; this specific anatomical sense has remained stable and is preserved in modern medical usage.