amputa'tion

The operation or proce of cutting off a limb in part or entirely, or a projecting part of the body, as the breast, the tongue, the penis, etc. In the case of an internal organ or a tumor, the terms excision, extirpation, or removal are used. In dentistry, the operation of excising with a surgical bur the apical portion of a diseased root. Chopart's a. See Chop art. [Lat., amputatio, a pruning.]