This National Institutes of Health Publication 09-4977, "What I Need to Know About Colon Polyps," provides information on what colon polyps are, symptoms of colon polyps, preventing the occurrence of polyps, and obtaining treatment for polyps if you have them. A colon polyp is a growth on the surface of the colon, also called the large intestine. Sometimes, a person can have more than one colon polyp. Colon polyps can be raised or flat. The large intestine is the long, hollow tube at the end of your digestive tract. The large intestine absorbs water from stool and changes it from a liquid to a solid. Stool is the waste that passes through the rectum and anus as a bowel movement.