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suture

[soo-cher]
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noun
  1. Surgery.
    1. a joining of the lips or edges of a wound or the like by stitching or some similar process.
    2. a particular method of doing this.
    3. one of the stitches or fastenings employed.
  2. Anatomy.
    1. the line of junction of two bones, especially of the skull, in an immovable articulation.
    2. the articulation itself.
  3. Zoology, Botany. the junction or line of junction of contiguous parts, as the line of closure between the valves of a bivalve shell, a seam where carpels of a pericarp join, etc.
  4. a seam as formed in sewing; a line of junction between two parts.
  5. a sewing together or a joining as by sewing.
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verb (used with object), su·tured, su·tur·ing.
  1. to unite by or as by a suture.
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Origin of suture

1535–45; < Latin sūtūra seam, suture, equivalent to sūt(us) (past participle of suere to sew1) + -ūra -ure
Related formssu·tur·al, adjectivesu·tur·al·ly, adverbpre·su·tur·al, adjectiveun·su·tured, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for suture

Historical Examples

  • He says that this suture insures the redintegration of the nerve much better.

    Old-Time Makers of Medicine

    James J. Walsh

  • He states that it is cut from the suture, where a whorl joins the preceding one.

  • If we trace our finger along the suture in the other direction, viz.

  • Elongated, with a spiral groove near the suture of the whorls.

    A Conchological Manual

    George Brettingham Sowerby

  • Occasionally the body-whorl is obtusely carinated just below the suture.

    The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide

    Augusta Foote Arnold

British Dictionary definitions for suture

suture

noun
  1. surgery
    1. catgut, silk thread, or wire used to stitch together two bodily surfaces
    2. the surgical seam formed after joining two surfacesAlso called: seam
  2. anatomy a type of immovable joint, esp between the bones of the skull (cranial suture)
  3. a seam or joining, as in sewing
  4. zoology a line of junction in a mollusc shell, esp the line between adjacent chambers of a nautiloid shell
  5. botany a line marking the point of dehiscence in a seed pod or capsule
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verb
  1. (tr) surgery to join (the edges of a wound, etc) by means of sutures
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Derived Formssutural, adjectivesuturally, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Latin sūtūra, from suere to sew
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for suture

n.

1540s, "surgical stitching of a wound, etc.," from Latin sutura "a seam, a sewing together," from sutus, past participle of suere "to sew" (see sew). The verb is recorded from 1777. Related: Sutured; suturing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
suture in Medicine

suture

(sōō′chər)
n.
  1. The line of junction or an immovable joint between two bones, especially of the skull.
  2. The process of joining two surfaces or edges together along a line by or as if by sewing.
  3. The surgical method used to close a wound or join tissues.
  4. The fine thread or other material used surgically to close a wound or join tissues.
  5. The line so formed.
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v.
  1. To join by means of sutures or a suture.
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Related formssu′tur•al adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.