HUMAN DISSECTION IN ENGLAND-A.D. 1510 TO 1958 135 



anatomical study in this region during twenty years of teaching 

 which inchided tenures at the Barber-Surgeon's Hall, the Royal 

 College of Physicians and at Caius College, Cambridge. At the last 

 institution, he was made master and it was given his name in 

 1559. After being appointed president of London College he con- 

 tinued to teach anatomy and became the personal physician of 

 Queen Mary. He remained a Galenist to the end (Macalister, 

 1891; Macmichael, '23). 



During the reigns of Edward VI (1547-1553) and Elizabeth 

 I (1558-1603), students at Cambridge were required to attend 

 t^vo or three dissections before graduating. Here, the Regius 

 Professor was forced to make, at least, one anatomy per year; 

 failure to do so meant a fine, according to the law. In 1565, 

 Queen Elizabeth granted four bodies annually to the College of 

 Physicians and Surgeons. That there was some surreptitious dis- 

 section done in those early days in England, is suggested by the 

 fact that a John Dean was fined for having anatomized in his 

 home; this was in 1573 (Ball, '28; Guttmacher, '35; Macalister, 

 1891; Robinson, '05). 



Apparently, during the 16th Century, some consideration was 

 given to the accommodations for students and others. The Barber- 

 Surgeons built seats in their hall in 1567 to permit better ob- 

 servation; the competing Royal College of Physicians erected an 

 anatomical theatre in 1583, and a second one in 1641 (Mac- 

 michael, '23; South, 1886). 



Epitaphs on old tombs suggest that the practice of body 

 snatching was in vogue early; Shakespeare wrote one in the 16th 

 Century in one of his books as follows (Arey, '40; Guttmacher, 

 •35): 



Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear 



To dig the dust inclosed here; 



Blest be the man that spares these stones. 



And curst be he that moves my bones. 



One of the outstanding figures in London during the latter 



part of the Renaissance period was William Harvey (1578-1657), 



I who is better known as a physiologist than an anatomist. Never- 



Ieless, he was prominent in anatomical circles during his period 

 I 



