Dis*sect" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dissected; p. pr. & vb. n. Dissecting.] [L. dissectus, p. p. of dissecare; dis- + secare to cut. See Section.] 1. (Anat.) To divide into separate parts; to cut in pieces; to separate and expose the parts of, as an animal or a plant, for examination and to show their structure and relations; to anatomize.

2. To analyze, for the purposes of science or criticism; to divide and examine minutely.

This paragraph . . . I have dissected for a sample.

Transitive verb
• To study a dead animal's anatomy by cutting it apart; to perform a necropsy or an autopsy.
  
• To study a plant or other organism's anatomy similarly.
  
• To analyze an idea in detail by separating it into its parts.
  
• Anatomy/ Surgery To separate muscles, organs, and so on without cutting into them or disrupting their architecture.
        Now dissect the triceps away from its attachment on the humerus.
  
• Pathology Of an infection or foreign material, following the fascia separating muscles or other organs.