Neuroanatomy and cadaver dissection in Italy: history, medicolegal issues, and neurosurgical perspectives

Abstract

Despite the significant Italian tradition of important anatomical studies, an outdated law historically influenced by the Catholic church restricts the use of cadavers for teaching and scientific purposes. The object of the present paper was to trace the historical evolution of the Italian anatomical tradition, particularly neuroanatomical studies, in relation to the juridical regulations on the use of cadavers today. Special attention was paid to the opportunities offered to neurosurgery by using cadavers and to the scientific and social issues in neurosurgical training in the twenty-first century. Considering the new Common European Constitution, the authors advocate a political solution from the European community to improve the quality of training in the disciplines with a social impact such as neurosurgery.

Neuroanatomy of cervical sympathetic trunk: A cadaveric study

“…It is understood that some other countries having a long anatomy tradition are also suffering from the same problem. A recent article published by Frati et al (2006) about the subject may be interesting.…”

The Birth and Evolution of Neuroscience Through Cadaveric Dissection

“…Mondino de Luzzi (1276-1326), a professor at Bologna, conducted human dissections in the early 1300s on criminals provided by civil authorities. 10 Unlike his predecessor Herophilus of Alexandria, however, he is said to have practiced only on executed prisoners, having been granted special permission to do so for the purposes of education. He is also credited with establishing an academic standard for dissection technique, laying a cadaver supine and starting from the abdomen, moving toward the thorax, and finally arriving at the center of intellect.…”

“…But perhaps most likely is religion, as laws of the Christian Roman Empire again decreed that the human body was sacred in its resemblance to God, giving way to the decline of human anatomophysiological studies. 10 A combination of such cultural and academic factors may have been synergistic in bringing about the demise of a golden era in human anatomic discovery.…”

“…Pope Boniface VIII prohibited all forms of mutilation and tampering with cadavers and boiling and embalming human bodies, except in cases to ascertain the cause of death. 10 Church authorities adhered rigidly to their ban on drawing of blood, relegating most surgeons to a lower social class among barbers and executioners during the Renaissance. Christian beliefs in resurrection, with eternal unification of the body and soul after Universal Justice, permeated social and juridical concepts of the cadaver throughout Europe and encouraged penal codes that punished the use of cadavers for most scientific or teaching purposes.…”

“…Most often they sat on a high chair, called a cathedra, to the side of the body. 10 He would most likely read from an authority on Galenic anatomy and the dissection or autopsy, itself, would be performed by a barber or surgeon.…”