Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Suture?

\Su"ture\, n. [L. sutura, fr. suere, sutum, to sew or stitch: cf. F. suture. See {Sew} to unite with thread.] 1. The act of sewing; also, the line along which two things or parts are sewed together, or are united so as to form a seam, or that which resembles a seam. 2. (Surg.) (a) The uniting of the parts of a wound by stitching. (b) The stitch by which the parts are united. 3. (Anat.) The line of union, or seam, in an immovable articulation, like those between the bones of the skull; also, such an articulation itself; synarthrosis. See {Harmonic suture}, under {Harmonic}. 4. (Bot.) (a) The line, or seam, formed by the union of two margins in any part of a plant; as, the ventral suture of a legume. (b) A line resembling a seam; as, the dorsal suture of a legume, which really corresponds to a midrib. 5. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The line at which the elytra of a beetle meet and are sometimes confluent. (b) A seam, or impressed line, as between the segments of a crustacean, or between the whorls of a univalve shell. {Glover's suture}, {Harmonic suture}, etc. See under {Glover}, {Harmonic}, etc.