The good is oft interred with their bones

Abstract

Two recent publications describe anatomical dissection in the 19th century and how in Great Britain the 1832 Anatomy Act regulated anatomical dissection. A current exhibition portrays the history of human anatomical dissection, the trade of grave robbing and murder to supply bodies for the tuition of anatomy in Scotland, and the enactment of the Anatomy Act 1832. The most complete versions of the exhibition will be on view in Edinburgh and Glasgow and smaller collections will be exhibited in other medical centres in Scotland (Patrizio and Kemp, 2006; Barnes and French, 2006). The two publications relating to this exhibition illustrate many of the items on display and describe in detail the history of anatomical dissection and the teaching of this subject in Scotland. Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer observed grave robbing in North America and the recounting of these and other abuses has been the subject of many publications (Richardson, 1988, 2001; Hughes, 2003). In a recent account, Helen MacDonald has described anatomical practice in 19th century Australia, where bodies of convicted felons were readily available as were those of aborigines and poor persons dying in hospitals. Her extensive researches importantly review the practice of anatomical dissection in a penal colony (MacDonald, 2005). These two accounts join many others in denouncing the early anatomical dissectors and their disregard for the sanctity of the body after death. The many publications describing the scandals of anatomical dissection seldom emphasize the benefits of anatomical knowledge so patiently acquired over centuries. And whilst the 1832 Act regulated and assisted human anatomical dissection, the complexity of the Human Tissue Act 2004 will restrict the performance of necropsies and hinder pathology research especially of diseases of the brain. Modern anatomical teaching began in Bologna, when Mondinus (Mondino de’Luzzi, 1270–1326) began public human dissections in …