LIGATURE

Ligature

In surgery or medical procedure, a ligature consists of a piece of thread tied around an anatomical structure, usually a blood vessel or another hollow structure to shut it off. With a blood vessel the surgeon will clamp the vessel perpendicular to the axis of the artery or vein with a hemostat, then secure it by ligating it; i.e. using a piece of suture around it before dividing the structure and releasing the hemostat. It is different from a tourniquet in that the tourniquet will not be secured by knots and it can therefore be released/tightened at will.

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Ligature (medicine)
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

ligature

Noun

  1. The act of tying or binding something.
  2. A cord or similar thing used to tie something; especially the thread used in surgery to close a vessel or duct.
  3. A thread or wire used to remove tumours, etc.
  4. The state of being bound or stiffened; stiffness.
    the ligature of a joint
  5. A character that visually combines multiple letters, such as æ, œ, ß or ij; also logotype. Sometimes called a typographic ligature.
  6. A group of notes played as a phrase, or the curved line that indicates such a phrase.
  7. A curve or line connecting notes; a slur.
  8. A piece used to hold a reed to the mouthpiece on woodwind instruments.
  9. Impotence caused by magic or charms.

Verb

  1. To ligate; to tie.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: ligature
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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