In the pursuit of knowledge Dissection, post-mortem surgery and the retention of body parts in 18th- and 19th-century Britain

Fundamental changes in medical philosophy during the 17th century saw the corpse becoming increasingly central to medical education and research. The writings of Hypocrites and Galen that had underpinned medieval medicine were being increasingly questioned (Porter 2003: 50). The ‘new philosophers’ o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBody Parts and Bodies Whole p. 135
Main Author Annia Cherryson
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxbow Books 30.06.2010
Subjects
Anatomy
Applied sciences
Archaeological excavation
Archaeological methods
Archaeology
Autopsies
Biological sciences
Biology
Body tissues
Bones
Connective tissues
Criminal investigation
Dissection
Economic disciplines
Economics
Employment
Field archaeology
Forensic medicine
Forensic sciences
Government
Government services
Health sciences
Labor economics
Laboratory techniques
Law enforcement
Law enforcement procedures
Medical personnel
Medical specialties
Musculoskeletal system
Occupations
Pathology
Physicians
Political science
Postmortem examinations
Skeleton
Skull
Social sciences
Specimen handling
Surgeons
Surgical specialties
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Summary:Fundamental changes in medical philosophy during the 17th century saw the corpse becoming increasingly central to medical education and research. The writings of Hypocrites and Galen that had underpinned medieval medicine were being increasingly questioned (Porter 2003: 50). The ‘new philosophers’ of the 17th century took a more mechanistic approach to nature, arguing that living organisms were subject to the same universal laws of matter as inanimate objects, thus envisioning the human body as a living machine (ibid. 50–51, French 1993: 93). This new more scientific climate favoured experimentation over reification, with the internal workings of the body becoming
ISBN:1842174029
9781842174029