Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-11-14
BODY SNATCHING.
A Wordin Defense of the MedIeal Pro-
feSslOn.

A Word In Defense Of the Medical Pro-
fe~siOn.
Ed. Tsl:-So much has been said by the
secular press on the subject of this article,
and so many anathemas have been heaped
upon medical colleges, medical societies
and medical men by the press, the pulpit
and the rostrum for the last two year;
that if would seem fitting that some mem
Der of the profession ''arise to explain"
One would infer from the newspaper
paragraphs in current circulation that the
medical profession was made up in the
main of a class of vampires preying upon
the finer feelings of humanity; whose cniei
delight consisted in shocking the public
sense of propriety, and swelling the aggre-
gate Of human woe. But we believe to the
intelligent and unprejudiced mind the pict-
ure has another side.
An Arab proverb, old as that beautiful
language in which it IS couched, is in these
words: ''The world is upborne upon four
pillers-the justice of the great; the pray
ers of the righteous; the bravery Of the
valiant, sndithe science of the physician.
Medical science then is one of the ground
pillars upon which securely rest the great
temple Of humanity.
In times of health and comfort men may
look to the Justice of the great for civil
liberty, to the prayers of the righteous for
spiritual strength, and to the bravery of
the valiant for political security, but when
the bloom of health has left the pallld
cheek, when fever burns the aching brow
and every nerve and fiber thrills beneath
the torturing agony of pain then will the
unfortunate victim turn 10 medical science
as to benifeent Deity 10 sOcthe and save.
and appeal to the physician as TO a very
God. to turn aside the threatening vials Of
wrath and stay the hand of the destroying
angel.
Be It remembered however, that the ben
efieeRt. knowledge thus possessed. 4. by the
nbysl..isn is not conferred upon him by III
beritance. nor received by him as special
grace. but on the contrary is obtained only
by patient. ardent and long continued
study of the mechanical structure of the
human body and the forces, powers and
agents tLhb hCt uy NAAo1
health and disease.
Living at the base CT this department OF
knowledge, the very foundation rock upon
which its structure is reared, is human an
atomy, without a thorough knowledge Of
which we can no more become a qualified
physician, surgeon or accOncheur than can
an engineer become qualified for his posi-
ton without a knowledge Of the mechan
ism of his engine. And there is but one
means by which the student can obtain
such knowledge, and that is by the patlerFe
and thorough use of the dissecting knife.
The learned John Hunter once saId--and
every educated physician in the world will
sustain the correctness of his views-that
dead bodies are the only books from
which to learn anatomy" Indeed, 1t
would be as unreasonable, and betray as
much ignorance of the work, to expect the
student to obtain a thorough knowledge
of anatomy by the study of plates, charts,
models and manikins as to expect musl-
clan to learn to execute music by studying
the wood cut engravings of a piano. With
this view the conclusion is Obvious-the
demand educated physi-
clans, and surgeons and medical students
must be provided with disSecting material
in order to be such. But, it will be ar
gued, the State already provides for this
necessity by giving the profession the bod
les of hanged men and criminals. Let US
see how well this supplies the want. Ohio
it will be remembered is the great educa-
tional State of the union. She has about
one sixth of all the medical colleges ih the
nation, and more than one half in Ameri-
ca west of the state of New York. Ohio
has at present ten medical colleges III sue
cessful operation, having an average an
nual attendance Ct at least one hundred
and fifty students making an aggregate of
fifteen hundred students to supply, whose
actual wants for dissecting purposes will
require at least twelve hundred bodies.
Now the annual supply from the gallOws
and penitentiary will not exceed fifty, leav-
ing a deficiency of eleven hundred and ff-
ty to supply the wants OF the colleges alone,
while the medical societies and practicing
physicians throughout the State may re-
1uire perhaps half as many more. These |
are nearly all obtained from the instisU-
tions of charity and potters-felds of the |
cities. Often in violation of law, of course, |
but such is the inconsistency of the |
Ohio law. The same law in its paradoxical |
forbids the college graduat-
ing a student unless he studies practical |
anatomy up to a certain standard, under !
penalty of losing her charter, and forbids |
the student practicing medicine without a
diploma, under penalty of Imprisonment
and still the same law forbids the college |
her students with dissecting ma
Lerial.
The reports of the desecration of the |
country church yards nearly all originate |
from the chImerIcal and ever fertile brains |
1f newspaper reporters. So long as the |
present facilities for obtaining material |
from the cities exist the profession will |
never disturb the country cemeteries and |
,he more intelligent people of the rural
districts generally understand it and have |
no fears. l cannot speak for the expert |
ance of other medical men, but as far as
l presume the experience of |
other physicians to be similar to my own
| have among my out buildings a small |
erected for the purpose and furn- |
ished with maps, charts, plates and other
necessary paraphernalia, and during the
winter months l purchase from Cleveland |
and Buffalo my dissecting material, place |
it upon my table in that little room and |
there I spend my leisure hours, refreshing |
nv memory upon the difficult points of |
surgical anatomy. This is no secret among
my neighbors, but fortunately I live in a
sufficiently intelligent to sp-
preeiate the Importance Of the work, and |
to second and sustain me in my labors. |
Nor have they any guard set to keep his |
nightly vigils around their lovely little, |
and evergreen shaded |
country churchyard, for they have no fears
that the burial places of their loved ones
will be disturbed. Nor need any commun-
lty who are rational enough to leave open |
the legitimate and reasonable avenues for |
obtaining materials have any fears of the |
lesecration of their country cemeteries by |
the medical profession.
We do feel, however, that it is not ask
ing too much OF an intelligent community |