vivisection

American  

[viv-uh-sek-shuhn] / ˌvɪv əˈsɛk ʃən /

noun

1. the action of cutting into or dissecting a living body.

2. the practice of subjecting living animals to cutting operations, especially in order to advance physiological and pathological knowledge.

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vivisection British  

/ ˌvɪvɪˈsɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act or practice of performing experiments on living animals, involving cutting into or dissecting the body

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vivisection Scientific  

/ vĭv′ĭ-sĕk′shən /

1. The practice of examining internal organs and tissues by cutting into or dissecting a living animal, especially for the purpose of scientific research.

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vivisection Cultural  

1. The cutting up or dissection of animals, including anesthetized live animals, in scientific research. Vivisection is also a general term for the use of animals as subjects in laboratory experiments, especially in the development of new medical techniques and drugs.

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Discover More

Vivisection, as well as the general use of animals in medical research, is a target of protest by animal rights advocates.

Other Word Forms

• vivisectional adjective
• vivisectionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of vivisection

First recorded in 1700–10; vivi- + section

Example Sentences

This is the gift “I Know This Much Is True” offers, a lengthy, lyrical vivisection of intertwined lives made of epic woe.

From Salon

The title essay is arguably her masterpiece, a cool vivisection of a place and time when the center fell apart.

From Los Angeles Times

His criticism workshops, a curricula staple for budding critics and dramaturgs, were an experience in literary vivisection, as he homed in on every cliché and woolly idea in that week’s student essay.

From Los Angeles Times

Other readers will hear in this vivisection of a dysfunctional family a Franzenesque attention to the great forces pulsing through American culture.

From Washington Post

Director Jean-Christophe Meurisse aims for nothing less than a full vivisection of French society in “Bloody Oranges,” a daring social satire that proceeds from the premise that his homeland may be incurably ill.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• postmortem