obturator

American  

[ahb-ter-ayt-er] / ˈɑb tərˌeɪt ər /

noun

• obturators
  plural

1. Anatomy. either of the muscles, external and internal, covering the opening (obturator foramen) in the pelvis, formed by the pubis and ischium.

2. any of various devices used in surgery and dentistry to close or fill openings in the body, especially a prosthetic device used to close a gap in the palate.

3. Ordnance. a device, such as a cap or pad, to seal the breech of a gun during firing so as to prevent gas from escaping.

4. Botany. a tissue growth that closes an opening, such as one found in the ovary of some plants near the micropyle of an ovule.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• transobturator
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• obturators
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

obturator obturators

The Lumbar plexus includes four nerves located in the upper and mid leg: The obturator, the femoral, muscular branches of the femoral, and the saphenous.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The large opening in the anteroinferior hip bone between the ischium and pubis is the obturator foramen.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

He could speak well when the opening remaining after the removal of the hard palate was plugged, and he was in town to have an obturator made.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Edward Pollock Anshutz

Paralysis of the obturator nerve or nerves is met with rather frequently, notwithstanding, in mares, following dystocia.

From Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1 by John Victor Lacroix

The fibers of the dorsal part pass anteriorly, cover the tendon of the m. obturator internus laterally, and insert on the trochanter around the point of insertion of the latter muscle.

From Myology and Serology of the Avian Family Fringillidae A Taxonomic Study by William B. Stallcup

These bolts were driven outside, and obturators wadded with indiarubber corked up the hole that let them through.

From The Moon-Voyage by Jules Verne