For my research, I emailed several museums asking for resources and information on the history dissection. These are parts of some of their replies.
Joy Thomas, Archivist, The Worshipful Company of Barbers and Surgeons:
In 1540 Henry VIII united the Company of Barbers with the Guild of Surgeons to create the Worshipful Company of Barbers and Surgeons. We received an Act of Parliament stating our rights, one of which was the right to four bodies that had been been hanged at Tyburn, per year, for the purposes of dissection. Yum. Hayley Kruger, Acting Head of Learning and Access, Hunterian Museum, The Royal College of Surgeons of England
... A key figure in this is Andreas Vesalius who wrote one of the first major works on anatomical dissection you can find out about him on the Science Museum’s websiteOne of the major writers in English on the History of Anatomical Dissection is Dr Andrew Cunningham You can also find lectures online that look at the practice of anatomical dissection - our former director Dr Simon Chaplin has recorded a number of lectures both here and at Gresham College Needless to say you will find references to dissection in many books on the history of medicine and you can read about particular surgeons and anatomists whose work in dissection led to great discoveries - William Harvey, William Hunter, John Hunter and Henry Gray - the man behind ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ - the major anatomical textbook still used by modern medical students. Philippa Mole Assistant Archivist & Records Manager|Museums and Archives, The Royal College of Surgeons of England
... "You might also find it helpful to search our online catalogue at:http://surgicat.rcseng.ac.uk, where you can find descriptions of museums specimens and original documents held in our museum and archives collections that relate to human dissection." (she also attached a very helpful information sheet) |