Dissection \Dis*sec"tion\, n. [Cf. F. dissection.]

1. The act of dissecting an animal or plant; as, dissection of the human body was held sacrilege till the time of Francis I.

2. Fig.: The act of separating or dividing for the purpose of critical examination.

3. Anything dissected; especially, some part, or the whole, of an animal or plant dissected so as to exhibit the structure; an anatomical so prepared.

Dissection wound, a poisoned wound incurred during the dissection of a dead body.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)