Obturate

ob′tū-rāt, v.t. to close or stop up.— ns. Obturā′tion , the act of stopping up, esp. in gunnery, of a hole to prevent the escape of gas; Ob′tūrātor , that which stops or closes up, as a device of this kind in gunnery, .: in surgery, an artificial plate for closing an abnormal aperture or fi ure, as with cleft palate, ., or for distending an opening, as in lithotomy: any structure that shuts off a cavity or pa age, esp. in anatomy, the membrane ve els, ., closing the obturator foramen , or thyroid foramen , a large opening or fenestra in the anterior part of the hip-bone. [L. obturāre , -ātum , to stop up.]