A medical term for the surgical removal of tissue is known as what?

The term "excision" specifically refers to the surgical removal of tissue. This term is commonly used in medical contexts when describing procedures where a specific area of tissue is cut away, such as in the removal of tumors or other abnormal growths. Excision is distinguished from other surgical terms because it directly indicates the act of cutting out tissue, making it a precise and widely applicable term in surgery.

While the other options may relate to surgical processes, they do not specifically denote the removal of tissue in the same way. Resection usually refers to the removal of a larger section of an organ or structure (such as part of the colon or lung), which has a slightly different connotation than a straightforward excision. Surgical repair indicates a procedure aimed at fixing or restoring tissue rather than removing it, which is not the focus of this question. An autopsy is an examination of a body after death, primarily for determining the cause of death, rather than a surgical procedure to remove tissue for treatment.