dissect

dissect
    v 1: cut open or cut apart; "dissect the bodies for analysis"
    2: make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of;
       break down into components or essential features; "analyze a
       specimen"; "analyze a sentence"; "analyze a chemical
       compound" [syn: {analyze}, {analyse}, {break down},
       {dissect}, {take apart}] [ant: {synthesise}, {synthesize}]
    

Dissect \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.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To analyze, for the purposes of science or criticism; to
      divide and examine minutely.
      [1913 Webster]

            This paragraph . . . I have dissected for a sample.
                                                  --Atterbury.
      [1913 Webster]
    

28 Moby Thesaurus words for "dissect":
      analyze, anatomize, assay, break down, break up, carve, cleave,
      cut, decompose, dichotomize, disjoin, disjoint, dissever, divide,
      part, penetrate, pierce, probe, reduce, reduce to elements,
      resolve, segment, separate, sever, slice, split, subdivide,
      sunder