HealthAugust 13, 2026

dehiscence

di-HIS-ens

Definition

The splitting or bursting open of a surgical wound or incision.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'dehiscere,' meaning to split open or gape. The term was adopted into medical English to describe the separation of the layers of a surgical wound.

In the news

The study tracked the rate of wound dehiscence as a complication after cranial duraplasty to determine the safety of different graft materials. It is a critical surgical outcome measurement used to assess how well a wound has healed.

Sawai Man Singh Medical College and Hospital: Natural vs. synthetic grafts - which is the better choice for cranial duraplasty?

Read the full article ↗

EurekAlert!

Related words

Learn a word like this every day

Meet one new word every morning.

Newspoken pulls one carefully chosen word from the day’s news — with a clear definition, context, and light review that makes it stick. Get it on your phone.