The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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.
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   2. Fig.: The act of separating or dividing for the purpose of
      critical examination.
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   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.
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   Dissection wound, a poisoned wound incurred during the
      dissection of a dead body.
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