In
medicine, an
avulsion is an injury in which a body structure is forcibly detached from its normal point of insertion by either
trauma or surgery (from the Latin
avellere, meaning "to tear off"). The term most commonly refers to a surface trauma where all layers of the
skin have been torn away, exposing the underlying structures (i.e.,
subcutaneous tissue,
muscle,
tendons, or
bone). This is similar to an
abrasion but more severe, as body parts such as an eyelid or an ear can be partially or fully detached from the body.