Doctors, Dissection & Resurrection Men - Exhibition

In 1823, William Millard was caught in the grounds of The London Hospital with a sack and a shovel...

This Museum of London exhibition looks at the early 19th century history of human dissection and how respectable surgeons entered into unsavoury agreements with Resurrection Men.

By the 18th century, every student doctor had to dissect as training developed from passive observation to a more hands-on approach. Yet the only legal source of bodies was executed murderers who had been condemned to dissection.

In 2006, the Museum of London Archaeology team uncovered a forgotten burial ground, in use between 1825 and 1841, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. From this, it soon became clear that the hospital had bypassed the body snatchers and used their unclaimed deceased patients for dissection practice. This forms the heart of the exhibition but you'll also see surgeon's instruments, anatomical models, etc., plus animal skeletons used for comparative anatomy, including a tortoise.

Resurrection men found it easy to easy to rob London's overcrowded cemeteries and the poor was the most vulnerable. Wealthier families could invest in a patented iron coffin (1819 model on display) that was used to try and save someone from body snatchers but the poor had no such protection. There were strong Christian beliefs about life after death as well as terror of bring cut into pieces. And even if you were poor being sold for dissection was shameful because of the association with executed murderers.

Not a soft subject but a fascinating exhibition as ever from the Museum of London. Not one for the kids but a great place for adults to take time to learn and reflect. The last gallery opens the conversation about organ donation and an 'opt out' scheme as they have in Spain rather than the 'opt in' which we have in the UK. You can continue that conversation with a trip to the Wellcome Collection who specialise in challenging our preconceptions and raising questions about death without fear.

Doctor's Dissection & Resurrection Men
19 October 2012 - 14 April 2013
Official website & booking information.
See a preview video from the Museum of London to find out more.