Literary notes about excision (AI summary)
The term "excision" is employed in literature to denote a precise removal process, whether referring to the literal elimination of tissue in a surgical context or the symbolic deletion of words, phrases, or even entire sections from a text. In medical discourse, it describes procedures that range from the total removal of diseased parts—such as in the excision of corns or tumors ([1], [2])—to less invasive extractions like partial tissue removal or nerve-sectioning ([3], [4]). Meanwhile, in literary and rhetorical discussions, "excision" takes on a metaphorical hue, implying the deliberate cutting away of elements that might affect the overall tone or clarity of a work, as when certain verses are omitted to perfect a poem ([5], [6]) or when an act of excision is critiqued as a form of reductive editing ([7], [8]). This dual application underscores the word’s broader significance as a tool for both physical and conceptual refinement.
- The total excision of corns, while disabling the patient more or less for a few days, is in many instances justifiable.
— from Surgery, with Special Reference to Podiatry by Edward Adams - The best procedure is complete excision of the cyst.
— from A System of Operative Surgery, Volume 4 (of 4) - If reduction is still impossible, a partial excision may be performed and a flap of fascia lata introduced to prevent ankylosis (arthroplasty).
— from Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson - In the two cases reported, excision of the nerve-trunk gave, in one instance, permanent relief; in the other the effect was only temporary.
— from Essentials of Diseases of the SkinIncluding the Syphilodermata Arranged in the Form of Questions and Answers Prepared Especially for Students of Medicine by Henry Weightman Stelwagon - After the excision of some verses, rather fantastical, in 1842, the poem became a flawless masterpiece,—one of the eternal possessions of song.
— from Alfred Tennyson by Andrew Lang - Among these is the excision of a sentence hitherto preserved in the text, and now relegated to the margin (p. 205).
— from The Works of Sir Thomas Browne, Volume 3 by Browne, Thomas, Sir - In seeking such a definition we may, so to speak, clip the ragged edge of common usage, but we must not make excision of any considerable portion.
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick - [FN#342] Here again a little excision is necessary; the reader already knows all about it.
— from The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 07
