Ep. 32 Body Snatchers: How the Need for Medical Cadavers Led to a Black Market of Stolen Bodies
- Author
- Shea LaFountaine
- Published
- Sun 22 Oct 2023
- Episode Link
- None
Burial has always been a sacred thing, undertaken with utmost reverence and respect for the dead. Graveyards and cemeteries, while yes often creepy, are peaceful, quiet places. The wind rustles the leaves of a tree, a dove coos mournfully, a tearful widow silently places flowers on her late husband’s grave. We typically think of graves as final resting places for the dead - the end of their stories here on Earth. But did you know, that wasn’t always the case? 200 years ago, many newly buried bodies wouldn’t rest for long. Did you know that as our collective medical knowledge and respect for science blossomed, so too did our need for human corpses. And that many of these cadavers were stolen from their graves by “body snatchers” who made a profitable business out of selling our dearly departed? Let’s fix that.
Dr. Jeff Sankoff:
Sources:
- Encyclopedia Britannica "Body Snatching"
- PBS "Body Snatching Around the World"
- UK National Archives "Body Snatchers"
- CBS News "Inside the largely unregulated market for bodies donated to science: 'It's harder to sell hotdogs on a cart'"
- Healthline "What Happens to Your Body When It's Donated to Science?"
- Encyclopedia Britannica "William Burke and William Hare"
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