Obturatio

Obturatio is a Latin noun meaning occlusion, obstruction, or closing off of a passage. The term derives from obturare, to close up or stuff up, and the -atio suffix forming nouns of action.

In classical and medieval medicine, obturatio described the blocking of bodily passages or vessels and was used to explain symptoms arising from occluded ducts, arteries, intestines, or airways. It appears in translations and commentaries on Greek and Roman authors, as well as in later scholastic works that framed disease processes in terms of occlusion.

In contemporary English-language medical writing, obturatio is rarely used outside historical or Latin-linguistic contexts. Modern equivalents are occlusion or obstruction. Latin phrases such as obturatio arteriarum or obturatio canalis would be rendered as arterial occlusion or canal obstruction. The term is closely related to obturator, from obturare, referring to an instrument or prosthesis designed to close an opening, and to obturation in dentistry, the sealing of a root canal to prevent leakage.

Obturation in dentistry (obturation) denotes the filling and sealing of the root canal system after cleaning and shaping. This use shares the same Latin root but has specialized meaning within endodontics.