purse-string suture

noun

A surgical and medical technique where a continuous running stitch is placed in and out along the edge of a circular wound; when the suture ends are pulled tight, the opening gathers and closes, much like a traditional drawstring purse.

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Meanings

nounpurse-string suture (plural purse-string sutures)

plural purse-string sutures

  1. medicineA surgical and medical technique where a continuous running stitch is placed in and out along the edge of a circular wound; when the suture ends are pulled tight, the opening gathers and closes, much like a traditional drawstring purse.

Origin

pursestring + suture.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

purse-string suture. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purse-string%20suture

MLA

“purse-string suture.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purse-string%20suture. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “purse-string suture,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purse-string%20suture.

Source: purse-string suture on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.