Amputation

And (as for) the man and the woman addicted to theft, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah. And Allah is Mighty, Wise. But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, Allah will turn to him (mercifully). Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. —Quran

Amputation is the removal of a limb. While historically referring to an act of punishment, in modern times it typically refers to a surgical procedure.

Quotes

• The video of 'paranoid' has been censored by MTV.  They took all nipples out of the cartoon, but they had no problem with the scene in which a man cuts off his own arms and legs.
  • Thom Yorke, (interview, 1997).

• any government that mutilates its citizens for the express purpose precipitating social stigma is, frankly, unfit to govern.
  • Empurata victim, Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #11, line by James Roberts
    • Note: Empurata is an anagram of amputare, the Latin word for amputation as a punishment; in the story it refers to the removal and replacement of the hands and face of a Transformer as punishment

• And (as for) the man and the woman addicted to theft, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah. And Allah is Mighty, Wise. But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, Allah will turn to him (mercifully). Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
  • Quran, Sura 5:38-39

• We had the courage to watch the dreadful sight for four hours ... Damiens was a fanatic, who, with the idea of doing a good work and obtaining a heavenly reward, had tried to assassinate Louis XV; and though the attempt was a failure, and he only gave the king a slight wound, he was torn to pieces as if his crime had been consummated. ... I was several times obliged to turn away my face and to stop my ears as I heard his piercing shrieks, half of his body having been torn from him, but the Lambertini and Mme XXX did not budge an inch. Was it because their hearts were hardened? They told me, and I pretended to believe them, that their horror at the wretch's wickedness prevented them feeling that compassion which his unheard-of torments should have excited.
  • Giacomo Casanova, Memoirs, Book 2, Volume 5, Chapter 3.