CHRONOLOGICAL HIGHLIGHTS ON HUMAN DISSECTION 259 



The inhabitants of early Egypt were polytheistic and much 

 concerned about their deceased; they early conceived the far- 

 reaching concept of immortality and a possible retribution in 

 another world. They were the first who became bold enough to 

 make incisions in a human corpse, which was related to the prac- 

 tice of mummification, but a stigma was attached to the man who 

 made the cuts; one of the greatest fears an Egyptian embalmer 

 had to overcome, was the mere opening of an abdomen. Thus, 

 he employed a scapegoat to perform the act. During this interval, 

 the precursor of the anatomist was born and some anatomical in- 

 formation was obtained about the human viscera. In Babylonia, 

 the people were mortally afraid of the dead and did everything 

 possible to avoid them. 



Under Hinduism, in India, general burning of the dead was 

 practiced for many centuries, with the exception of children and 

 great saints. 



In the time of Homer, in Greece, cremation was practiced 

 and, for prominent personages, a great spectacle was made with 

 huge funeral pyres and sport contests. Later, during the Golden 

 Age, in that country, the human body began to be conceived as 

 having two parts: soul and matter. The latter was thought of as 

 being corrupt. In general, salvation, transmigration and an 

 eventual return to earthly life was ascribed to the former. 



Before the advent of Christianity in Rome, with polytheism 

 in vogue, ghosts, spectres and bogeys populated the world. Even 

 the priests were not permitted to come in contact with the dead, 

 approach a grave, touch or name things associated with death 

 and the nether world. 



Therefore, during the period from 5000 to about 300 B.C., 

 little anatomical knowledge prevailed. Spirits were generally 

 thought to have an occult relationship to the body, even after 

 death. A corpse was either preserved carefully, burned or en- 

 tombed to prevent any insult to it which might embitter its 

 ghost. Mere contact with a cadaver was sufficient to defile and 

 pollute the person involved; any attempt at dissection or mutila- 

 tion constituted a sacrilege of the greatest magnitude. One way 

 in which anatomical knowledge was gained was by examination 



