DISSECTION DURING THE MODERN PERIOD 109 



nature or reason; every person would profit in the end by attend- 

 ing (De Lint, '34; Garrison, '29; Major, '41). 



In the development of anatomical laws, those individuals 

 dying in prisons, penitentiaries and by suicidal action were auto- 

 matically given up for dissection unless a certain sum was paid 

 to the school prior to death. Also, accessible were the bodies of 

 paupers, executed criminals, those supported publicly and pros- 

 titutes. From these sources, an ample supply was available and 

 resurrection men were unknown (Bailey, 1896). 



According to Walton (1882), these standards prevailed in 

 1882. While he was at Leipzig University, much time was spent 

 dissecting, the material was abundant, the main source being ex- 

 ecuted criminals and suicides. At this institution, there were six, 

 well-lighted, dissecting rooms: one for 150 students; two for 50 

 and three were smaller. Anatomical study extended over a two- 

 year period after which each student had to pass a rigorous state 

 examination. 



During the next half-century, the situation changed in Ger- 

 many. About 1930, there were twenty-three university medical 

 schools in the country and all instruction was standardized. Dur- 

 ing the 1928-1929 academic season, there were 2,277 medical stu- 

 dents in Berlin alone. Gross anatomy was taught three semesters 

 a year and dissection was required during two. The practice of 

 anatomizing ^vas substandard because of the shortage of cadavers; 

 often sixteen or seventeen students studied on one specimen, or 

 six were assigned to one-quarter of a subject. Sometimes, the class 

 was divided in half, each taking turns examining the same sub- 

 ject. One brain had to suffice for twenty-five to thirty students 

 in neuroanatomy. The scarcity of bodies was due to several fac- 

 tors: relatives claiming them, the activity of burial societies and 

 the zeal exhibited by priests, embalmers and gravediggers in col- 

 lecting fees for interment. The last three named were inter- 

 ested in seeing subjects inhumed for monetary reasons and they 

 were especially active in small communities and rural areas. 

 Teachers were overloaded with work because they were too few 

 in number; laboratory exercises were frequently taught in shifts 

 and the quizzes were inadequate and varied according to the 

 :hool (Conel, '31). 



