Conclusion
Rights and responsibilities involving the dissection of humans have changed greatly over time. For the majority of ancient times human dissections were not permitted, except for a brief period. The dead had all the rights and the living had the responsibility to protect and respect those rights. In the Middle Ages, more rights were granted to the living to dissect human cadavers, while still protecting those of the dead. It was the living's responsibility not to commit crimes to protect their body from dissection after death. It was the responsibility of the anatomists to ensure they were dissecting criminals. When the demand for bodies increased, both the living and the dead lost some rights. The dead began to be stolen from their graves and the living were killed for their bodies. Laws were passed to protect the rights that were lost. It became the living's responsibility to protect the rights of the dead and the dead's responsibility to permit some to be dissected for the living to gain knowledge.
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