Dissect: To cut apart or separate tissue, as for anatomical study or in surgery. Also, an artery is said to dissect when its wall is torn, as in a dissecting aneurysm.

What does dissecting mean in medical terms?

Dissection: The process of cutting apart or separating tissue as, for example, in the study of anatomy or in the course of a surgical procedure.

What does the prefix dissect mean?

The prefix of dissect is not di-, however, but dis- meaning “apart”. It's the same prefix as in words such as disintegrate (to break up into small parts) and dismember (to cut the limbs from something). Dissect means to methodically cut something into pieces rather than to merely cut it in two.