n.
- The process of joining two surfaces or edges together along a line by or as if by sewing.
- The material, such as thread, gut, or wire, that is used in this procedure.
- The line or stitch so formed.
- Medicine.
- The fine thread or other material used surgically to close a wound or join tissues.
- The stitch so formed.
- Anatomy. The line of junction or an immovable joint between two bones, especially of the skull.
- 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.
To join by means of sutures or a suture.
[Middle English, from Latin sūtūra, from sūtus, past participle of suere, to sew.]
sutural su'tur·al adj.suturally su'tur·al·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.