Institutionalized Youth and the Anatomy Lab in Twentieth Century Michigan.

Abstract

* Abbreviation: UMMS — : University of Michigan Medical School In early January 1923, Harley Haynes, superintendent of Michigan’s Lapeer Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic (“Lapeer Home”), wrote to Rollo McCotter, University of Michigan Professor of Anatomy. He wrote to tell him that the body of Inez M., a girl who died at “seven years, four months, and nine days of age,” would soon arrive in Ann Arbor because her “parents . . . could not furnish burial.”1 Thus, as mandated by state Anatomic Law, her body would be delivered to the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) for the cost of $19.92 ($299.88 in 2020 dollars).2 There is no indication for Inez M. (or for any of the other children) that her parents’ consent was requested or that they were even informed. That the UMMS was paying for bodies was not unusual. During the 19th century, the study of gross anatomy in US medical schools had become increasingly important. Historians have studied how and why those schools acquired bodies in general.3,4 However, the specific acquisition of children’s bodies has not been previously described. In this article, we briefly outline how one university program acquired children’s bodies. We suggest possible motivations for their use and consider areas for further scholarship. Like many 19th-century medical schools, UMMS struggled to acquire bodies for anatomic dissection, sometimes resorting to graverobbing.5,6 In 1867, reflecting a national trend, the state of Michigan passed “An Act to Authorize Dissection in Certain … Address correspondence to Joel D. Howell, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, North Campus Research Complex, 2800 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2800. E-mail: jhowell{at}umich.edu