suture

[ soo-cher ]

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.

verb (used with object)

, su·tured, su·tur·ing.

1. to unite by or as by a suture.

suture

/ ˈsuːtʃə /

noun

1. surgery
   1. catgut, silk thread, or wire used to stitch together two bodily surfaces
   2. the surgical seam formed after joining two surfaces Also calledseam
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

verb

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

Derived Forms

• ˈsuturally, adverb
• ˈsutural, adjective

Other Words From

• sutur·al adjective
• sutur·al·ly adverb
• pre·sutur·al adjective
• un·sutured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of suture¹

1535–45; < Latin sūtūra seam, suture, equivalent to sūt ( us ) (past participle of suere to sew ¹ ) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of suture¹

C16: from Latin sūtūra, from suere to sew

Example Sentences

While suturing another patient after childbirth, the lawsuit states, Brock told her, “I’m going to make you a virgin again, by stitching you tighter. Believe me, your husband will thank me.”

From Los Angeles Times

Nearly a dozen patients alleged unnecessary suturing or crude comments about it: Brock told several plaintiffs he inserted an “extra stitch” in their perineal areas to make them “tighter” after childbirth, the lawsuit said.

From Los Angeles Times

We hear cracking bones, see a pile of entrails, watch Sue suture Elisabeth’s back, and get an uncomfortable close-up of Harvey frenetically masticating beady-eyed shrimp.

From Salon

Following delivery of her second child, Brock spent an unusually long time suturing what he said was a small labial tear, she told police and the medical board.

From Los Angeles Times

“Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• stitch