The WOW discussion is an opportunity to share with the class something that surprised you in your reading, research, or study of the topics we cover in this module. As you read and watch the stories t

Two related things caught my eye while reading Chapter 17 of the textbook. The first, was on page 501 when Rembrandt’s painting of The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632) was shown. The second was the quote: “One of the more spectacular demonstrations of new knowledge was public dissection, but law performed only on the corpses of criminals”(Kishlansky, 2008, p. 500).

Two things about these caught my attention and made me want to learn more. First, the change in intellectual curiosity that made physicians begin to look for new explanations with scientific basis instead of religious or supernatural ones; second, the morbidness of this public activity.

1. Why was dissection done only in public?

Dissections were a method of teaching and instruction. Initially, this took place outside of the universities and thus needed an alternate location. Theaters (with a stage) were popular as they could hold a larger number of students and thus have an audience (Knoeff, 2012).

1. How did dissection and anatomy lessons become acceptable to the Christian churches of Europe?

Originally studies of anatomy fell under natural philosophy. This meant dissection was seen as a way to study the human soul. As such this was a way to honor and admire God’s work and thus was acceptable to Christianity (Knoeff, 2012).

1. Why were dissections performed on criminal corpses?

One idea says that restricting this to criminal corpses was a punitive measure. It prolonged punishment after death as it abused the body and was a violation of forbidden knowledge. Another, more recent, argument says that dissection undermined customary funeral rites. As such, criminals, whose rights had been stripped due to their crime, were unprotected subjects (Park, 1994, pp. 3 – 4).

References:

Kishlansky, M.. (2008). Civilizations in the west (7th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education. Etext.

Knoeff, R.. (2012). Dutch Anatomy and Clinical Medicine in 17th Century Europe. Europäische Geschichte Online (EGO). Retrieved from http://ieg-ego.eu/de/threads/modelle-und-stereotypen/das-niederlaendische-jahrhundert-17.-jhd/rina-knoeff-dutch-anatomy-and-clinical-medicine-in-17th-century-europe.

Park, K.. (Spring 1994).The Criminal and the Saintly Body: Autopsy and Dissection in Renaissance Italy. Renaissance Quarterly, 47(1), 1 – 33. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2863109.