ramification

noun

Etymology: From Middle French ramification, or its source, Medieval Latin rāmificātiō. By surface analysis, ramify + -ication.

1. A branching-out, the act or result of developing branches; specifically the divergence of the stem and limbs of a plant into smaller ones, or of similar developments in blood vessels, anatomical structures etc.

   “The character of trees may be studied to advantage […] in winter, when the forms of the ramification can be seen in the naked boughs […]”

   “From the left chamber or ventricle of the strong muscular mass, the heart, a large tube arises, called the aorta; and by a continued division or ramification, opens a way for the bright scarlet blood to the very minutest part of the living frame […]”

2. An offshoot of a decision, fact etc.; a consequence or implication, especially one which complicates a situation.

   “The treachery of some of the Jacobite agents (Rashleigh among the rest), and the arrest of others, had made George the First's Government acquainted with the extensive ramifications of a conspiracy long prepared, and which at last exploded prematurely […]”

   “What, then, is my Scheme? It is a very simple one, although in its ramifications and extensions it embraces the whole world.”

3. An arrangement of branches.