Body-snatching

Body-snatching was the secret disinterring of dead bodies in churchyards in order to sell them for the purpose of dissection. Those who practised body-snatching were frequently called resurrectionists or resurrection-men.

Previous to the passing of the Anatomy Act 1832, no licence was required in Britain for opening an anatomical school, and there was no provision for supplying subjects to students for anatomical purposes. Therefore, though body-snatching was a misdemeanour at common law, punishable with fine and imprisonment, it was a sufficiently lucrative business to run the risk of detection.

Body-snatching became so prevalent that it was not unusual for the relatives and friends of a deceased person to watch the grave for some time after burial, lest it should be violated. Iron coffins, too, were frequently used for burial, or the graves were protected by a framework of iron bars called mortsafes, well-preserved examples of which may still be seen in Greyfriars churchyard, Edinburgh.

For a detailed history of body-snatching, see The Diary of a Resurrectionist, edited by J. B. Bailey (London, 1896), which also contains a full bibliography and the regulations in force in foreign countries for the supply of bodies for anatomical purposes.

This kind of practice was also common in other parts of the Commonwealth, such as Canada, where religious customs made it hard for medical students to obtain a steady supply of bodies. In many instances the students themselves had to resort to fairly regular body snatching. This is related in En guettant les ours : mémoires d'un médecin des Laurentides by Vieux Doc (docteur Edmond Grignon) Montréal : Éditions Édouard Garand, 1930. This is out of print but has been digitized by the National library of Quebec, and is available in its original French language format at:

http://www.bnquebec.ca/numtextes/te443.htm

See also: History of medicine, History of anatomy