analysis is a Greek word that combines Ana- (Up), "up," + -lysis (Loosening), "loosening." We use the word to mean breaking up a whole, either material or abstract, into its components, the usual purpose being to gain an understanding of that which is analyzed. This is what analysis meant to the Greeks, too, though they added the sense of dissolution, even death. It has been suggested thatthe use ofthe term might have begun with the practice of loosening up earth to discover bits of gold or precious stones. In medicine, analysis can apply either to a substance or to thoughts.