“Unearthing” 19th Century (illegal) tricks to support anatomy instruction

By Mary K. Marlatt

The difficulties of obtaining “material” for instruction in gross anatomy forced frustrated medical faculties of the 19th century into illegal activities. From the earliest days of modern medicine, men called resurrectionists provided cadavers for study by medical students and their teachers, but despite an urgent academic need for cadavers to study human anatomy, the only legal manner to obtain a body was through the execution of a convicted criminal. Execution only provided a minimal number of bodies per year – not nearly enough to fill the need of medical schools.

So how did UofL faculty obtain enough bodies for the hundreds (sometimes thousands) of medical students in Louisville during this period?

Kornhauser Health Sciences Library has in its collection several first-hand accounts documenting how this macabre task was accomplished. One tale is told in the diary of Charles Hentz, a student at UofL from 1846-1848, who assisted Dr. George Wood Bayless, then Demonstrator of Anatomy, on his forays into the cemeteries of Louisville.

There is also the story of Simon Kracht, janitor at the medical school from 1871-1875, whose duties including building maintenance and grave robbing. Kracht and a student were arrested in December 1872 when they were found unloading four bodies from the back of a wagon into the medical school.

Finally, in 1887, David W. Yandell, MD, son of the first Dean of the Medical School, recounted to a reporter his personal recollections of procuring specimens for the dissecting room. You can learn more about this “grave” historical topic by visiting the display case in the library, just across from the service desk.

Please take time to watch this silent short film, “The Real Body Snatchers,” to learn more.