Temporary ostomies may be reversed with minimal or no loss of intestinal function. A permanent ostomy may be required when disease, or its treatment, impairs normal intestinal function or when the muscles that control elimination do not work properly or require removal. The most common causes of these conditions are low rectal cancer and sometimes anal cancer. As previously stated, an ostomy connects either the small intestine (ileum) or the large intestine (colon) to the surface of the abdominal wall whose end result is depicted in Figure 3: