Chapter 2, Crimes of Anatomy Summary and Analysis

Chapter 2 concerns the dignity, or lack thereof, of human remains. Roach attends a memorial service for the unnamed cadavers of UCSF Medical School class of 2004 gross anatomy lab. While there are the usual funereal arrangements, the dismembered cadavers are conspicuously absent. The memorial is a serious occasion. Residents take turns singing songs and reading. The author is particular touched by one student's heartfelt and grateful tribute to a past cadaver.

Over the last decade, medical schools have made a concentrated effort to instill in their students a respect for the dead. At Hugh Patterson's invitation, Roach tours the gross anatomy lab and speaks with the students. She finds the resident surgeons open, honest, and respectful of their cadavers. Historically, Roach notes, this has not always been the case. In Alexandrian Egypt, Ptolemy I, fascinated with...