Precis: When bodies are donated to science, they may undergo many different purposes. For many, one of these purposes is to practice surgical procedures. However, these procedures can range from potentially life-saving if done on a living person to practice for nose jobs. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the practice of live dissections became popular. The reason for this is because the number of medical students was growing, while the amount of cadavers was more or less staying the same. Herophilus managed to dissect more than 600 live criminals. Today, there is only one field research facility in the world that serves the soul purpose of observing human decay. There are many signs that can be observed within the phases of human decay which can be used to help detectives in forensics.
"Cooper was an outspoken defender of human dissection. 'He must mangle the living if he has not operated on the dead.'" (Roach, 45)
"Enthusiasm got the better of compassion and common sense, and the man took to dissecting live criminals." (Roach, 40)
"The brain liquefies very quickly. It just pours out the ears and bubbles out the mouth." (Roach, 67)
The main thought that the book (especially chapter 2) has given me so far is disgust. I know that many of the units we have covered so far are intended to be topics that people do not really think about in depth very much, but this one is something that I haven't really thought about at all, not even bubbled. So when I read things that tell me that humans who have donated their bodies to science are having their heads cut off and surgeons practice nose jobs on them after they die, it is sickening. I am curious more about how bodies are dealt with in the present, although slightly afraid, compared to the 18th and 19th centuries.
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