suture

[ soo-cher ]

/ ˈsu tʃər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR suture ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Surgery.

a joining of the lips or edges of a wound or the like by stitching or some similar process.
a particular method of doing this.
one of the stitches or fastenings employed.

Anatomy.

the line of junction of two bones, especially of the skull, in an immovable articulation.
the articulation itself.

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.

a seam as formed in sewing; a line of junction between two parts.

a sewing together or a joining as by sewing.

verb (used with object), su·tured, su·tur·ing.

to unite by or as by a suture.

RELATED WORDS

stitch, joint, seam, sew, line

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for suture

Rami of mandible anchylosed together and suture largely obliterated.
The Beaked Whales of the Family Ziphidae|Frederick True
He says that this suture insures the redintegration of the nerve much better.
Old-Time Makers of Medicine|James J. Walsh
The sphenofrontal foramen lies in the suture between the extreme anterior margin of this bone and the frontal bone.
A New Species of Heteromyid Rodent from the Middle Oligocene of Northeast Colorado with Remarks on the Skull|Edwin C. Galbreath
The squamosals are large; the long anterior arm is separated from the maxillary by a suture.
Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca|William E. Duellman

Elongated, with a spiral groove near the suture of the whorls.
A Conchological Manual|George Brettingham Sowerby

British Dictionary definitions for suture

suture

/ (ˈsuːtʃə) /

noun

surgery

catgut, silk thread, or wire used to stitch together two bodily surfaces
the surgical seam formed after joining two surfacesAlso called: seam

anatomy a type of immovable joint, esp between the bones of the skull (cranial suture)

a seam or joining, as in sewing

zoology a line of junction in a mollusc shell, esp the line between adjacent chambers of a nautiloid shell

botany a line marking the point of dehiscence in a seed pod or capsule

verb

(tr) surgery to join (the edges of a wound, etc) by means of sutures

Derived Formssutural, adjectivesuturally, adverb

Word Origin for suture

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

suture

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.

Medicine definitions for suture

suture

[ sōō′chər ]

n.

The line of junction or an immovable joint between two bones, especially of the skull.

The process of joining two surfaces or edges together along a line by or as if by sewing.

The surgical method used to close a wound or join tissues.

The fine thread or other material used surgically to close a wound or join tissues.

The line so formed.

v.

To join by means of sutures or a suture.

Related formssu′tur•al adj.