110 HUMAN DISSECriON. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



C. Italy 



There is nothing mucli to mention about the status of anat- 

 omy during the modern period in Italy. If any serious difficulty 

 was encountered, little publicity has been given to it. The source 

 of anatomical material was the hospitals. All unclaimed persons 

 who succumbed there, were released for dissection, but friends 

 could claim them provided they defrayed the costs of the funeral. 

 This arrangement took care of the dissecting needs, in general; 

 if a shortage developed, anatomists could resort to the poor people 

 who died and had to be buried at public cost. These were de- 

 posited in the parish churches of Italy in special chambers, after 

 religious ceremonies were performed. At night, the bodies were 

 removed either to a dissecting-room or to cemeteries outside the 

 town. Under these standards, body snatching did not exist (Bailey, 

 1896). 



D. Holland 



The early history in Holland, in respect to human dissection, 

 indicates that the times were prosperous. Particularly, interest 

 was shown in anatomy by the citizenry. The possession of ai 

 anatomical theatre was regarded as being as much of an asset 

 an art museum is today. Anatorhizing seems to have gotten it 

 start at the University of Leyden during the 17th Century (Singer, 

 '25). They were frequently held in public and were popular.^ 

 Dutch artists of the period attended and some of their paintinj 

 vividly portray such scenes. At Leyden, the medical school ol 

 tained its cadaver supply from the civil hospitals located a( 

 Amsterdam. Exhumation was unnecessary and unknown (Bailey, 

 1896; Castiglioni, '41; Viets, '.SO). 



. A peculiarity in that country, was that the public anatomies 

 were presented on Sundays, provided there was a hanging sclied- 

 uled for that day. These were boldly advertised in the newspapei 

 which stated that seats would be available at 50 cents per person; 

 The choice ones were reserved for physicians and surgeons. At 

 the completion of the dissections, parts of the body could be pui;; 

 chased for a special fee (Meyer, *30). 



Tlie anatomical schools of Holland became well-known dur^ 

 ing the last part of the 17th and the first of the 18th Centuries.' 



