seton

1. (medicine, agriculture) A few silk threads or horsehairs, or a strip of linen etc., introduced beneath the skin by a knife or needle, so as to induce suppuration; also, the issue so formed.Examples: "If the predisposition to the disease has arisen from a plethoric state of the system, or from a turgescence in the vessels of the head, this is to be obviated by bleeding, both generally and topically, but more particularly the latter; an abstemious diet and proper exercise; and by a seton in the neck."; "The animal was lean and tall, and had a moth-eaten mane, rough hoofs and loose shoes; a seton bobbed up and down on its breast."