scarification

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The act of scarifying: raking the ground harshly to remove weeds, etc.
2. (countable, uncountable)A medieval form of penance in which the skin was damaged with a knife or hot iron.
3. (countable, uncountable)The scratching, etching, burning / branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification.
4. (countable, uncountable)A route of administration for some vaccinations and tests: rather than hypodermic injection, the site is inoculated intradermally not with any injection but rather only with small, shallow pricks or scratches; the needle is not hollow.