Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Daniel Patrone

  • Thomas Hume’s recollections of the public execution of William Burke

    Daniel PatroneOneonta, New York, United States In the early nineteenth century, the rapid advancement of anatomical science created a surging demand for human cadavers. Given the woefully inadequate legal supply of cadavers, this demand fueled the rise of a lucrative but illicit industry of graverobbers or “resurrection men” who supplied bodies to anatomists through unscrupulous…