Dictionary entry

Fistula

Webster's Dictionary 1913

‖Fis″tu‐la (?; 135), n.; pl.Fistulæ (#). 1. A reed; a pipe.

2. A pipe for convejing water. Knight.

3. (Med.) A permanent abnormal opening into the soft parts with a constant discharge; a deep, narrow, chronic abscess; an abnormal opening between an internal cavity and another cavity or the surface; as, a salivary fistula; an anal fistula; a recto-vaginal fistula.

Incomplete fistula(Med.), a fistula open at one end only.