The human foundations of anatomy at The University of Sydney: One hundred and one years of body procurement

Body procurement at The University of Sydney has a long history. Anatomy legislation (1881 Anatomy Act) modeled on the British Anatomy Act 1832 legalized procurement of unclaimed bodies from public institutions for anatomical dissection at licensed Schools of Anatomy, effectively conferring the University of Sydney an exclusive license until the 1960s. This study documents the procurement of 7609 bodies between 1883 and 1983, of which 4084 were unclaimed. Until the 1930s, bodies were predominantly from public asylums, with a small number from psychiatric asylums, hospitals and morgues. Donors were uncommon as were female bodies, reflecting prevailing societal antipathy toward anatomical dissection, the characteristics of asylum residents, and academic attitudes to the dissection of the female body. The individuals whose bodies sustained medical education were diverse in origin and circumstances: ex-convicts, immigrants, miners, Chinese indentured laborers, Indigenous Australians and locally born individuals. Although the law provided a limited right of objection, asylum residents were poorly positioned to exercise it. Mirroring practice across the Western World, their classification as "unclaimed" reflected legal procedure and poverty, institutionalization, separation from family, discriminatory and inaccurate record-keeping, and Colonial-era assumptions of social worth. Little consideration was given to their cultural beliefs, preferences and rights. The University shifted to a body donation program in the 1940s as the availability of unclaimed bodies diminished. This shift was rapid; the last unclaimed body was received in 1961.