Cadaver

A cadaver, corpse or lich is a dead human body. The Latin term cadaver is normally used for a body in medical training or research.[1]

Contents

Human decay

Main article: Decomposition
The corpses of Paris Communards

The various stages of decomposition can help determine how long a body has been dead.

The first stage is self digestion, and is where the body eats itself, also known as autolysis. This happens when the cells break down the body into elements the cells can eat; this creates a liquid that gets between the layers of skin and makes the skin peel off. During this stage, flies (when present) start to lay eggs in the openings of the body: eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, open wounds, and other orifices. Hatched larvae (maggots) of blowflies subsequently get under the skin and start to eat the body.

The second stage of decomposition is bloating; bacteria in the gut begin to break down the tissues of the body, releasing gas that accumulates in the intestines, which becomes trapped due to the early collapse of the small intestine. This bloating occurs largely in the abdomen, and sometimes in the mouth and genitals. The tongue may swell and the penis may become hard and long. This usually happens in about the second week of decomposition. Gas accumulation and bloating will continue until the body is decomposed sufficiently for the gas to escape.

The third stage is putrefaction. It is the last and longest stage. Putrefaction is where the larger structures of the body break down, and tissues liquefy. The digestive organs, the brain, and lungs are the first to disintegrate. Under normal conditions, the organs are unidentifiable after three weeks. The muscles can be eaten by bacteria or devoured by carnivorous animals. Eventually, sometimes after several years, all that remains is the skeleton.

Embalming

The embalming process includes the use of specialist chemicals.

When a corpse is buried, the body will decompose by the actions of anaerobic bacteria. In many countries, corpses buried in coffins are embalmed. An embalmer may clean and shave the face, fill the eye sockets with cotton to make them appear full, and suture the jaw together to keep it from hanging open. Embalming fluid is then pumped into the body via an artery (commonly carotid, or femoral). This rehydrates the tissues and severely reduces the pace of decomposition.

Embalming is used to preserve the corpse temporarily, but may last for years. In some countries, such as the United States and Japan, make-up is applied to the corpse to prepare the body for public presentation. The corpse is then ready to go into the coffin. The embalmers then lower the corpse into the coffin, and then lower the coffin into the grave.

A brief history of cadavers

The methods of preserving cadavers, and their acquisition, have changed over the last 200 years. Criminals who were executed for their crimes were used as the first cadavers. The demand for cadavers increased when the number of criminals being executed decreased. Since corpses were in such high demand, it became commonplace to steal bodies from graves in order to keep the market supplied.

From 1827 to 1828 in Scotland, murders were carried out, so that the bodies could be sold to medical schools for cash. These were known as the West Port murders. The Anatomy Act of 1832 was formed and passed because of the murders.

At that time, cadavers had to be used immediately because there were no adequate methods to keep the body from quickly decaying. Preservation was needed in order to carry out classes and lessons about the human body. Glutaraldehyde was the first main chemical used for embalming and preserving the body. Glutaraldehyde leaves a yellow stain in the tissues, which can interfere with observation and research.

Formaldehyde is the chemical that is used as the main embalming chemical now. It is a colorless solution that maintains the tissue in its life-like texture and can keep the body well preserved for an extended period.

Body snatching over the years

Herophilus, the “father of anatomy”, lived in 300 BC in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the first physician to dissect bodies.

The tradition of dissecting criminals was carried up into the eighteenth and nineteenth century when anatomy schools became popular in England and Scotland. At that time, Christians believed in the literal raising from the dead. Because the souls of dissected bodies could not go to heaven, people rarely offered their bodies to science. The only cadavers available were criminals', and anatomists were portrayed as no better than an executioner.

Anatomy schools began to steal bodies from graves. "Grave robbers" were technically people who stole jewelry from the deceased, but stealing the dead body was not a crime. Some anatomy instructors encouraged this "body snatching". Students sometimes paid tuition in corpses or dug up bodies as late night pranks.

Some respected anatomy instructors dug up bodies themselves. The anatomist Thomas Sewell, who later became the personal physician for three U.S. presidents, was convicted in 1818 of digging up a corpse for dissection.

Anatomists would even dissect members of their own family. William Harvey, the man famous for discovering the circulatory system, was so dedicated he dissected his father and sister.

By 1828 anatomists were paying others to do the digging. At that time, London anatomy schools employed ten full time body snatchers and about two hundred part timer workers during the dissection season. This period ran from October to May, when the winter cold slowed down the decomposition of the bodies. A crew of six or seven could dig up about 312 bodies. The average body snatcher made about 1,000 dollars a year, ten times more than the average unskilled laborer of that time period, with summers off.

The poor were most vulnerable, because they could not afford coffins to keep the body snatchers out.

Disposing of the dissected body was difficult, and rumors have appeared about how anatomists might have managed. One possibility was secretly burying the remains behind their school. Another rumored possibility was that they gave the bodies to zoo keepers, as feed for carnivorous animals or burial beneath elephant grazing pens, or fed the bodies to vultures kept specifically for this purpose.

Stories appeared of people murdering for the money they could make off cadaver sales. Two of the most famous are that of Burke and Hare, and that of Bishop, May, and Williams.

By the 1890s body snatching was less common and by the 20th century it had all but disappeared. Embalming and preservation of cadavers became more advanced and education in medical schools improved. Students no longer had to quickly dissect bodies before they decomposed. These dissections were orderly and complete. Improvements in medical school, including a graded curriculum, meant doctors were better educated. The medical profession received new esteem by diagnosing and healing more people. With that respect came a larger supply of cadavers, making body snatching almost non-existent.

References

  1. ↑ OED, 1989 edition. cadever "A dead body, esp. of man; a corpse. (Now chiefly in technical lang.)

See also

External links