suture

suture

 [soo´chur]

1. sutura.

2. a stitch or series of stitches made to secure apposition of the edges of a surgical or traumatic wound; used also as a verb to indicate application of such stitches.

3. material used in closing a wound with stitches. adj., adj su´tural.

Various types of sutures. From Dorland's, 2000.

absorbable suture a strand of material that is used for closing wounds and becomes dissolved in the body fluids and disappears; types include surgical gut, tendon, and some synthetics.

apposition suture a superficial suture used for exact approximation of the cutaneous edges of a wound.

approximation suture a deep suture for securing apposition of the deep tissue of a wound.

buried suture one placed within the tissues and concealed by the skin.

catgut suture an absorbable suture made from surgical gut.

cobbler's suture double-armed suture.

collagen suture a suture made from the tendons of cattle, chemically treated, purified, and processed into strands; it is most often used in ophthalmologic surgery.

continuous suture one in which a continuous, uninterrupted length of material is used.

coronal suture the line of union between the frontal bone and the parietal bones.

cranial suture the lines of junction between the bones of the skull.

Czerny's suture

1. an intestinal suture in which the thread is passed through the mucous membrane only.

2. union of a ruptured tendon by splitting one of the ends and suturing the other end into the slit.

Czerny-Lembert suture a combination of the Czerny and the Lembert sutures.

double-armed suture one made with suture material threaded through a needle at each end. Called also cobbler's suture.

false suture a line of junction between apposed surfaces without fibrous union of the bones.

Gély's suture a continuous stitch for wounds of the intestine, made with a thread having a needle at each end.

interrupted suture one in which each stitch is made with a separate piece of material.

lambdoid suture the line of union between the upper borders of the occipital and parietal bones, shaped like the Greek letter lambda.

Lembert suture an inverting suture used in gastrointestinal surgery.

lock-stitch suture a continuous hemostatic suture used in intestinal surgery, in which the needle is, after each stitch, passed through the loop of the preceding stitch.

mattress suture suturing with the stitches parallel to the wound edges (horizontal mattress suture) or at right angles to them (vertical mattress suture).

purse-string suture a type of suture commonly used to bury the stump of the appendix, a continuous running suture being placed about the opening, and then drawn tight.

relaxation suture any suture so formed that it may be loosened to relieve tension as necessary.

retention suture a reinforcing suture made of exceptionally strong material such as wire, and including large amounts of tissue in each stitch. Used to relieve pressure on the primary suture line and to decrease the potential for wound dehiscence.

sagittal suture the line of union of the two parietal bones, dividing the skull anteroposteriorly into two symmetrical halves.

squamous suture the suture between the pars squamosa of the temporal bone and parietal bone.

subcuticular suture a method of skin closure involving placement of stitches in the subcuticular tissues parallel with the line of the wound.

synthetic absorbable suture an absorbable suture produced from strands of polymers; the most commonly used materials are polyglactin 910 (Vicryl) and polyglycolic acid (Dexon); the latter is more rapidly absorbed. Synthetic absorbable sutures are absorbed by slow hydrolysis, a chemical process in which the polymer reacts with tissue fluids, causing a breakdown of the molecular structure of the material at a predictable rate and with minimal tissue reaction.

vertical mattress suture a suture whose stitches are at right angles to the edges of the wound, taking both deep and superficial bites of tissue; the superficial ones achieve more exact apposition of the cutaneous margins. When the suture material is pulled tight, the wound edges evert.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

su·ture

(sū'chūr), This word refers to a seam consisting of several stitches. It is not properly synonymous with stitch.

1. A form of fibrous joint in which two bones formed in membrane are united by a fibrous membrane continuous with the periosteum. Synonym(s): sutura [TA], suture joint

2. To unite two surfaces by sewing. Synonym(s): stitch (3)

3. The material (silk thread, wire, synthetic material, etc.) with which two surfaces are kept in apposition.

4. The seam so formed, a surgical suture.

[L. sutura, a seam]

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

suture

(so͞o′chər)

n.

1.

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

b. The material, such as thread, gut, or wire, that is used in this procedure.

c. The line or stitch so formed.

2. Medicine

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

b. The stitch so formed.

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

4. Biology A seamlike joint or line of articulation, such as the line of dehiscence in a dry fruit or the spiral seam marking the junction of whorls of a gastropod shell.

tr.v. su·tured, su·turing, su·tures

To join by means of sutures or a suture.

---

su′tur·al adj.

su′tur·al·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

suture

noun Surgery A material–eg, wire, thread–used to hold tissues in apposition. See Biosyn^™ suture, Knotless anchor suture, Linatrix suture, Safil^® synthetic absorbable surgical suture, Synthetic absorbable suture, Synthetic nonabsorbable suture. Cf Stable verb To join tissues by sewing.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

su·ture

(sū'chŭr) [TA]

1. A form of fibrous joint in which two bones formed in membrane are united by a fibrous membrane continuous with the periosteum.
Synonym(s): sutura [TA] .

2. To unite two surfaces by sewing.
Synonym(s): stitch (3) .

3. The material (silk thread, wire, catgut) with which two surfaces are kept in apposition.

4. The seam so formed; a surgical suture.

[L. sutura, a seam]

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

suture

1. A length of thread-like material used for surgical sewing or the product of surgical sewing. Sutures are made of many materials including catgut, collagen, linen, silk, nylon, polypropylene, polyester, human FASCIA LATA and stainless steel, and are available in a wide range of thicknesses. Many are provided with a suitable needle swaged on to one or both ends. See also SUTURING.

2. A fixed joint between bones of the vault of the skull.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

suture

1. (in surgery) a thread or wire used to join together a wound.
2. (in surgery) the seam found after stitching two parts together.
3. an immovable joint between the bones of the skull.
4. (in plants) the line of fusion between two carpels.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

su·ture

(sū'chŭr) [TA]

1. Fibrous joint in which two bones formed in membrane are united by a fibrous membrane continuous with periosteum.

2. To unite two surfaces by sewing.
Synonym(s): stitch (3) .

3. The material (e.g., silk thread, wire, synthetic material) with which two surfaces are kept in apposition.

[L. sutura, a seam]

Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012