latives of the deceased, and
every precaution was taken to prevent its occurrence.

It would be beyond the scope of the present work to attempt a history of
anatomical teaching; as will be pointed out later on, the resurrection-men
did not come into existence until the early part of the eighteenth
century.

In Great Britain the study of medicine and surgery was much hampered at
this date by the scarcity of opportunities by which the student might get
a practical acquaintance with the anatomy of the human body. A knowledge
of anatomy was insisted upon by the Corporation of Surgeons, as each
student had to produce a certificate of having attended at least two
courses of dissection. It is unnecessary to point out the wisdom of this
condition in the case of men who were to go out into the world as
surgeons, and, consequently, to have the lives of their fellow-men in
their hands. The attendance on the two courses of dissection could be
evaded, and this was frequently done. The Apothecaries' Hall had no such
restriction, and, consequently, many men went thither and received a
qualification to practise, although they were quite unacquainted with
human anatomy. The work of such 'prentice hands one trembles to think of;
whatever experience these men did gain was obtained after they began to
practise, and so must have been at the expense of their patients, who were
generally those of the poorer class in life.

It was pointed out by Mr. Guthrie, that in the then state of the law a
surgeon might be punished in one Court for want of skill, and in another
Court the same individual might also be punished for trying to obtain that
skill. Before the Anatomy Committee, in 1828, Sir Astley Cooper narrated
the case of a young man who was rejected at the College of Surgeons on
account of his ignorance of the parts of the body; it was found, on
enquiry, that he was a most diligent student, and that his ignorance arose
entirely from his being unable to procure that which was necessary for
carrying on this part of his education.

When bodies were obtained for dissection it was generally by surreptitious
means; the newly-made grave was too often the source from whence the
supply was obtained. At first there was no direct trade or traffic in
subjects by men who devoted all their efforts to this mode of obtaining a
livelihood. The students supplied their own wants as they arose. Mr. G. S.
Patterson told the Committee that at St. George's Hospi