HUMAN DISSECTION IN ENGLAND-A.D. 1510 to 1958 139 



required that a demonstrator of anatomy be appointed yearly. 

 The duties of such a man consisted of assisting the Master and 

 Stewards, and demonstrating one private and one public anatomy 

 per year. 



Notices of public dissections had to be published in the daily 

 ne^vspapers but this requirement was discontinued in 1742 (South, 

 1886). 



That the schools were concerned with the resurrection of 

 human bodies is indicated by the fact that the University of 

 Cambridge issued an ordinance forbidding grave robbing by mem- 

 bers of their anatomy classes but this did not prove to be effective 

 for the practice increased, if anything (Macalister, 1891). 



The Barbers and Surgeons parted company in 1745; the lat- 

 ter built a new anatomical theatre in 1753 and installed it with a 

 Professor of Anatomy, a Henry Watson. He was given an annual 

 salary of 120 pounds and was required to teach anatomy three 

 times a week throughout the year (Ball, '28; Rolleston, '39). 



An important event in London was the rise of two hospital 

 medical schools, St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas, which helped 

 lead to the separation of the austere and pompous Barber-Sur- 

 geons. The latter, which imposed rules of its own, had to re- 

 linquish its long held right in regulating the teaching of anatomy. 

 It could cope with individual violations of its code, but against 

 these powerful institutions, their protests were futile. 



From the descriptions given, it is apparent that the standards 

 in dissection in the first hospital medical schools, were not very 

 high. The students at St. Thomas were subjected to a small room 

 of the following kind: in the daytime, light was obtained from two 

 eastward windows; in the night, a square lantern provided the 

 illumination. Glass cases, stacked from top to bottom, occupied 

 the western part of the chamber. On the south side, was a large 

 fireplace and a copper kettle which was used to prepare the sub- 

 jects. In addition, a large leaden sink, placed under the windows, 

 was used for washing hands and dumping debris. A dozen tables, 

 rhich held the subjects were scattered about. Six to eight pupils 

 ^ere assigned to each so that a total of seventy to eighty were 

 present at one time allowing barely enough space for each to 



