18th century doctors shared bodies to teach dissections, research shows
by Ian Sample, science editor, in San Jose from on (#34VB)
Medical students were so numerous in Georgian London they had to share cadavers, study of autopsy practices reveals
For physicians teaching in Georgian London, the solution was never in question. Faced with a shortage of bodies to dissect, they chopped up cadavers and handed parts out.
The sheer number of students passing through London's medical schools in the mid 18th century made it the only city where resourceful doctors had to share out bodies, often acquired from dubious sources.
