Definition

1. Noun:

   • A surgical stitch or the material used for it: A suture is a thread (made of materials like catgut, silk, or synthetic polymers) used by a surgeon to sew body tissues together after an injury or surgery.
   • The seam or line where two parts are joined, especially in surgery: The suture is also the actual seam or stitch line created by this process.
   • An immovable joint between bones, especially in the skull: In anatomy, a suture is a type of fibrous joint that connects bones, such as those in the human skull, allowing for growth in childhood but becoming fixed in adulthood.

2. Verb:

   • To stitch together (a wound or incision): To suture means to join the edges of a wound or surgical incision by sewing them with a suture thread.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The surgeon used a fine, dissolvable suture to close the incision.
  • The patient had no complications, and the sutures were removed after ten days.
  • The coronal suture is one of the major joints between the bones of the skull.

• Verb:

  • The doctor will suture the laceration to promote proper healing.
  • After the operation, the wound was carefully sutured.

Advanced Usage

• "Suture line": The line or track of a surgical stitch.

  • Keep the suture line clean and dry to prevent infection.

• "Suture removal": The medical procedure of taking out non-dissolvable stitches.

  • Your suture removal is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Variants and Related Words

• Suturing (n/gerund): The act or technique of sewing up a wound.

  • The suturing was done with great precision.

• Sutural (adj): Pertaining to a suture, especially an anatomical joint.

  • Sutural ligaments hold the skull bones together.

Synonyms

• Stitch (n/v): (A loop of thread or the act of making one) to close a wound.
• Seam (n): A line where two edges are joined (used more generally; in medicine, it can be analogous to a suture line).

Related Phrases

• "To place a suture": To put in a stitch.

  • The nurse assisted the surgeon to place the final suture.

• "Running suture" vs. "interrupted suture": Specific techniques for stitching. A running suture is a continuous stitch, while an interrupted suture uses separate, individual stitches.

  • For this type of wound, interrupted sutures are often preferred.

Related Idioms

(Note: "Suture" is a highly technical medical/anatomical term and is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions. Its usage is almost exclusively literal.)

Noun

1. thread of catgut or silk or wire used by surgeons to stitch tissues together
2. a seam used in surgery
3. an immovable joint (especially between the bones of the skull)

Verb

1. join with a suture
   • suture the wound after surgery