vivisection

noun

viv·​i·​sec·​tion ˌvi-və-ˈsek-shən 

ˈvi-və-ˌsek-

1

: the cutting of or operation on a living animal usually for physiological or pathological investigation

broadly : animal experimentation especially if considered to cause distress to the subject

2

: minute or pitiless examination or criticism

vivisectional

ˌvi-və-ˈsek-sh(ə-)nəl

 

adjective

vivisectionist

ˌvi-və-ˈsek-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

Did you know?

Vivisection includes the Latin root sect, meaning "cut". The Greek physician Galen, who lived during the 2nd century A.D., practiced vivisection on live monkeys and dogs to learn such things as the role of the spinal cord in muscle activity and whether veins and arteries carry air or blood; his findings formed the basis of medical practice for more than a thousand years. Vivisection continues to be used in drug and medical research today, but often in secret, since it makes most people very uncomfortable and some groups are violently opposed to it.

Examples of vivisection in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Dangers of Animal Experimentation—for Doctors Livia Gershon Nineteenth-century opponents of vivisection warned that the practice could make researchers and physicians callous toward all living creatures. —Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 16 May 2018

Unit 731 is also believed to have performed vivisections and frozen prisoners to death in tests of endurance. —Mari Yamaguchi, USA TODAY, 24 July 2023

Mary Gaitskill is a novelist, essayist, and short-story writer celebrated by readers and critics (this one included) for her uncompromising acuity and clear-eyed vivisection of our mottled human nature. —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2022

Or how about in District 9 where an entire alien race is subjected to squalor, neglect, and vivisection? —Kyle Munkittrick, Discover Magazine, 22 Oct. 2010

Word History

Etymology

Latin vivus + English section

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing vivisection

• anti-vivisection

Kids Definition

vivisection

noun

vivi·​sec·​tion

ˌviv-ə-ˈsek-shən

: the operating or experimenting on a living animal for scientific or medical study

Medical Definition

vivisection

noun

vivi·​sec·​tion ˌviv-ə-ˈsek-shən, ˈviv-ə-ˌ 

: the cutting of or operation on a living animal usually for physiological or pathological investigation

broadly : animal experimentation especially if considered to cause distress or result in injury or death to the subject

vivisect

-ˈsekt 

verb

vivisectional

ˌviv-ə-ˈsek-shnəl, -shən-ᵊl 

adjective