suture

 
Pronunciation: /ˈsuːtʃə/

noun

  • 1a stitch or row of stitches holding together the edges of a wound or surgical incision: sutures are removed on the 5th to 7th day after the operation
  • a thread or wire used for suturing a wound or incision.
  • [mass noun] the action of stitching together the edges of a wound or incision.
  • 2a seam-like immovable junction between two bones, such as those of the skull.
  • Zoology a similar junction, such as between the sclerites of an insect’s body.
  • Geology a line of junction formed by two crustal plates which have collided.

verb

[with object]
  • stitch up (a wound or incision) with a suture: the small incision was sutured

Derivatives

sutural

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English: from French, or from Latin sutura, from suere 'sew'