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Definition

noun, plural: sutures

(anatomy) A line of junction or the joint between two articulating bones, especially of the skull.

(surgery) A (method of) joining of the edges of a wound from injury or surgery, e.g. by sewing or stitching skin, internal organs, blood vessels, and all other tissues together.

(zoology) A (line of) junction of contiguous animal parts, as in the suture (i.e. the line of closure) between the valves of a bivalve shell, or the suture (the junction) between whorls of a gastropod mollusk.

(botany) A (line of) junction of contiguous plant parts, as in the suture in the carpels of a pericarp.

Supplement

(surgery) Sutures are usually synthetic based line that is minimally reactive in tissues. Commonly used for this procedure are nylon, prolene and gut.

Word origin: From Latin sutura.
Related forms: suture (verb), sutural (adjective).
See also: fibrous joint, articulation.