dissection
n. C / Un. the act of cutting apart a body or plant to study its inside parts. It can also mean looking very closely at an idea or a piece of writing to understand it better.
n. the process of dismembering a body, organism, or plant to examine its internal structure for medical or scientific study. In a figurative sense, refers to the minute and critical analysis of a text, argument, or event.
The students performed a dissection of a frog in biology class.
The surgeon performed a careful dissection of the tissue to reveal the underlying nerves and blood vessels.
The professor's thorough dissection of the treaty revealed several hidden clauses that would have significantly altered international trade relations had they remained unnoticed by the public.
Borrowed from Latin dissectiōnem, perhaps via Middle French dissection. By surface analysis, dissect + -ion.
Countable when referring to a specific instance or exercise; uncountable when referring to the general practice or method.