Section, Caesarian

Section, Caesarian: Procedure in which an infant, rather than being born vaginally, is surgically removed from the uterus. As the name "Caesarian" suggests, this is not a new procedure. it was done in ancient civilizations upon the death of a pregnant woman near term to salvage the baby. Julius Caesar (or, more likely, one of his predecessors) was born by this procedure. The term "section" in surgery refers to the division of tissue. What is being divided here is the abdominal wall of the mother and the wall of the uterus in order to extract the baby. In Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" the Witches’ prophecy was that "...none of woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth" (IV.i). Unfortunately for Macbeth, the Scottish nobleman Macduff was "from his mother’s womb/ Untimely ripped." and thus not naturally "born of woman"(V.vii). Macduff is the only agent capable of destroying Macbeth. He kills Macbeth in battle.