Kirschner wire

noun

A sterilized, sharpened, smooth stainless steel pin, used in orthopaedics and other types of medical and veterinary surgery to hold bone fragments together or to provide an anchor for skeletal traction.

Similar
K-wirepin
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Meanings

nounKirschner wire (plural Kirschner wires)

plural Kirschner wires

  1. A sterilized, sharpened, smooth stainless steel pin, used in orthopaedics and other types of medical and veterinary surgery to hold bone fragments together or to provide an anchor for skeletal traction.

    Synonyms: K-wire, pin

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA sterilized, sharpened, smooth stainless steel pin, used in orthopaedics and other types of medical and veterinary surgery to hold bone fragments together or to provide an anchor for skeletal traction.

Similar
K-wirepin

Origin

Introduced in 1909 by Martin Kirschner.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Kirschner wire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kirschner%20wire

MLA

“Kirschner wire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kirschner%20wire. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kirschner wire,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kirschner%20wire.

Source: Kirschner wire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.