seton
9.9
A piece of thread put under the skin to help infected fluid drain
- noun
- /ˈsɛtən/
- Specialized
:
setón
- The surgeon placed a seton to help drain the infection from the wound.
Examples
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To treat the abscess effectively, the doctor advised using a seton for drainage.
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After the operation, the patient had a seton in place to assist with healing.
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In 1711, Bernardino Ramazzini began experimenting with setons, or strips of cloth contaminated with the rinderpest virus, as a way to protect cattle.
Academic text (2013)
Synonyms
9
5.4
A tube put into the body to remove fluid after surgery
is a thread passed under the skin to promote drainage
Surface Forms
Etymology
Seton comes from the old Latin word seta, which means 'bristle'. In early medicine people often passed a small bristle or thread under the skin to keep a wound open so it could drain, and that's why a seton today is a thread used to promote drainage.