Definition

Noun: 1. The act or process of tying or binding something, especially a blood vessel or duct, with a ligature: In surgery, this is a common technique to close off a vessel or duct, typically to prevent bleeding or to stop the flow of other fluids. 2. (In biochemistry) The joining of two nucleic acid molecules: This refers to the enzymatic process of forming a phosphodiester bond to join DNA or RNA strands.

Usage

• The primary use is in medical and surgical contexts to describe the act of tying off a vessel.
• It is also a standard term in molecular biology for a key laboratory procedure.

Examples

• Medical/Surgical Context:
  • The surgeon performed a ligation of the artery to control the hemorrhage.
  • Tubal ligation is a common form of female sterilization.
• Biochemistry Context:
  • DNA ligation is a crucial step in the process of cloning.
  • The efficiency of the ligation reaction determines the success of constructing the plasmid.

Advanced Usage

• "Ligation site": The specific location where a vessel has been tied off or where DNA strands have been joined.
  • The patient experienced pain near the ligation site.
• "Ligation-independent cloning": A molecular biology technique that does not require the use of DNA ligase enzyme.
  • We used ligation-independent cloning to speed up the vector construction.

Variants and Related Words

• Ligate (verb): To perform the act of ligation.
  • The surgeon will ligate the vessel before removing the tumor.
• Ligature (noun): The thread, wire, or similar material used to tie something in a ligation.
  • The ligature must be tight enough to occlude the vessel completely.

Synonyms

• Tying off (medical)
• Binding (general)
• Occlusion (medical, focusing on the closing aspect)
• Joining or Splicing (biochemistry)

Related Phrases

• Tubal ligation: A surgical procedure for female sterilization involving the sealing of the fallopian tubes.
  • After having three children, she opted for a tubal ligation.
• Vasectomy (conceptually related): The male sterilization procedure, which involves the ligation of the vas deferens.
  • A vasectomy involves the ligation and cutting of the vas deferens.

Idioms

(This term is highly technical and is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions.)

Noun

1. (surgery) tying a duct or blood vessel with a ligature (as to prevent bleeding during surgery)