Editing Dissection (section)

===Christian Europe===
[[File:De Re Anatomica.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A dissection in [[Realdo Colombo]]'s ''[[De Re Anatomica]]'', 1559]]
<!-- THE BELOW PARAGRAPH is modified from [[Dark Ages (historiography)#Modern popular use]] -->
Throughout the history of Christian Europe, the dissection of human cadavers for medical education has experienced various cycles of legalization and proscription in different countries. Dissection was rare during the Middle Ages, but it was practised,<ref name="Classen2016">{{cite book |last=Classen |first=Albrecht |title=Death in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times: The Material and Spiritual Conditions of the Culture of Death |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3P9CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA388 |year=2016 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-043697-6 |page=388}}</ref> with evidence from at least as early as the 13th century.<ref name="P Prioreschi 2001"/><ref>"In the 13th century, the realisation that human anatomy could best be taught by dissection of the human body resulted in its legalisation of publicly dissecting criminals in some European countries between 1283 and 1365" – this was, however, still contrary to the edicts of the Church. Philip Cheung, "Public Trust in Medical Research?" (2007), page 36</ref><ref>"Indeed, very early in the thirteenth century, a religious official, namely, Pope Innocent III (1198–1216), ordered the postmortem autopsy of a person whose death was suspicious". Toby Huff, ''The Rise Of Modern Science'' (2003), page 195</ref> The practice of autopsy in Medieval Western Europe is "very poorly known" as few surgical texts or conserved human dissections have survived.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Philippe |last1=Charlier |first2=Isabelle |last2=Huynh-Charlier |first3=Joël |last3=Poupon |first4=Eloïse |last4=Lancelot |first5=Paula F. |last5=Campos |first6=Dominique |last6=Favier |first7=Gaël-François |last7=Jeannel |first8=Maurizio Rippa |last8=Bonat |first9=Geoffroy Lorin |last9=de la Grandmaison |first10=Christian |last10=Hervé |display-authors=6 |title=A glimpse into the early origins of medieval anatomy through the oldest conserved human dissection (Western Europe, 13th c. A.D.) |journal=Archives of Medical Science |date=May 2014 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=366–373 |doi=10.5114/aoms.2013.33331 |pmc=4042035 |pmid=24904674}}</ref>
A modern Jesuit scholar has claimed that the Christian theology contributed significantly to the revival of human dissection and autopsy by providing a new socio-religious and cultural context in which the human [[cadaver]] was no longer seen as sacrosanct.<ref name="P Prioreschi 2001">P. Prioreschi, "Determinants of the revival of dissection of the human body in the Middle Ages", ''Medical Hypotheses'' (2001) 56(2), 229–234</ref><!-- we mention this, but discussing it would be for a religion'n'ethics article really -->

A non-existent edict<ref>Charles H. Talbot. ''Medicine in Medieval England''. London: Oldbourne, 1967. p. 55, n. 13.</ref> {{lang|la|Ecclesia abhorret a sanguine}} of the [[Council of Tours 1163|1163 Council of Tours]] and an early 14th-century decree of [[Pope Boniface VIII]] have mistakenly been identified as prohibiting dissection and autopsy; misunderstanding or extrapolation from these edicts may have contributed to reluctance to perform such procedures.<ref>"While during this period the Church did not forbid human dissections in general, certain edicts were directed at specific practices. These included the {{lang|la|Ecclesia Abhorret a Sanguine}} in 1163 by the Council of Tours and Pope Boniface VIII's command to terminate the practice of dismemberment of slain crusaders' bodies and boiling the parts to enable defleshing for return of their bones. Such proclamations were commonly misunderstood as a ban on all dissection of either living persons or cadavers (Rogers & Waldron, 1986){{clarify|date=May 2016}}, and progress in anatomical knowledge by human dissection did not thrive in that intellectual climate." Arthur Aufderheide, ''The Scientific Study of Mummies'' (2003), p. 5</ref>{{efn|"the pope did not forbid anatomical dissections but only the dissections performed with the purpose of preserving the bodies for distant burial"<ref name="P Prioreschi 2001"/>}} The Middle Ages witnessed the revival of an interest in medical studies, including human dissection and autopsy.<!--see following quote--><ref name=":4" /><ref>"Current scholarship reveals that Europeans had considerable knowledge of human anatomy, not just that based on Galen and his animal dissections. For the Europeans had performed significant numbers of human dissections, especially postmortem autopsies during this era", "Many of the autopsies were conducted to determine whether or not the deceased had died of [[natural causes]] (disease) or whether there had been foul play, poisoning, or physical assault. Indeed, very early in the thirteenth century, a religious official, namely, Pope Innocent III (1198–1216), ordered the postmortem autopsy of a person whose death was suspicious". Toby Huff, ''The Rise Of Modern Science'' (2003), p. 195</ref>

[[File:Mondino - Anathomia, 1541 - 3022668.tif|thumb|upright|[[Mondino de Luzzi]]'s ''Anathomia'', 1541]]
[[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] (1194–1250), the Holy Roman Emperor, decreed that any that were studying to be a physician or a surgeon must attend a [[human dissection]], which would be held no less than every five years.<ref name=":0" /> Some European countries began legalizing the dissection of executed criminals for educational purposes in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. [[Mondino de Luzzi]] carried out the first recorded public dissection around 1315.<ref name=":0" /> At this time, autopsies were carried out by a team consisting of a Lector, who lectured; the Sector, who did the dissection; and the Ostensor, who pointed to features of interest.<ref name=":0" />

The Italian [[Galeazzo di Santa Sofia]] made the first public dissection north of the Alps in Vienna in 1404.<ref name="RegalNanut2007">{{Cite book |first1=Wolfgang |last1=Regal |first2=Michael |last2=Nanut |title=Vienna – A Doctor's Guide: 15 walking tours through Vienna's medical history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ARYNOecoznYC&pg=PP7 |date= December 13, 2007 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-211-48952-9 |page=7}}</ref>

[[File:Vesalius Portrait pg xii - c.png|thumb|upright|left|[[Vesalius]] with a dissected [[cadaver]] in his {{lang|la|[[De humani corporis fabrica]]}}, 1543]]

[[Vesalius]] in the 16th century carried out numerous dissections in his extensive anatomical investigations. He was attacked frequently for his disagreement with [[Galen]]'s opinions on human anatomy. Vesalius was the first to lecture and dissect the cadaver simultaneously.<ref name=":0" /><ref>C. D. O'Malley, ''Andreas Vesalius' Pilgrimage'', Isis 45:2, 1954</ref>

The Catholic Church is known to have ordered an autopsy on [[conjoined twins]] Joana and Melchiora Ballestero in [[Hispaniola]] in 1533 to determine whether they shared a soul. They found that there were two distinct hearts, and hence two souls, based on the ancient Greek philosopher [[Empedocles]], who believed the soul resided in the heart.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Freedman |first=David H. |title=20 Things you didn't know about autopsies |journal=Discovery |date=September 2012 |volume=9 |pages=72}}</ref>

[[File:Hercules pollaiuolo.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|[[Renaissance art]]ists such as [[Antonio del Pollaiuolo]] studied anatomy to improve their artwork, as seen in this figurine of [[Hercules]], 1470.]]

Human dissection was also practised by [[Renaissance art]]ists. Though most chose to focus on the external surfaces of the body, some like [[Michelangelo Buonarotti]], [[Antonio del Pollaiuolo]], [[Baccio Bandinelli]], and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] sought a deeper understanding. However, there were no provisions for artists to obtain cadavers, so they had to resort to unauthorised means, as indeed anatomists sometimes did, such as [[grave robbing]], [[body snatching]], and [[Anatomy murder|murder]].<ref name=":0" />

Anatomization was sometimes ordered as a form of punishment, as, for example, in 1806 to [[James Halligan (1778–1806)|James Halligan]] and [[Dominic Daley]] after their public hanging in Northampton, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Richard D.|title='Tried, Convicted, and Condemned, in Almost Every Bar-room and Barber's Shop': Anti-Irish Prejudice in the Trial of Dominic Daley and James Halligan, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1806|journal=The New England Quarterly|date=June 2011|volume=84|issue=2|pages=205–233|doi=10.1162/tneq_a_00087|s2cid=57560527|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In modern Europe, dissection is routinely practised in biological research and education, in medical schools, and to determine the cause of death in autopsy. It is generally considered a necessary part of learning and is thus accepted culturally. It sometimes attracts controversy, as when [[Odense Zoo]] decided to dissect lion cadavers in public before a "self-selected audience".<ref>{{cite web |title=Odense Zoo animal dissections: EAZA response |url=http://www.eaza.net/latest-news |publisher=European Association of Zoos and Aquaria |access-date=15 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513130558/http://eaza.net/latest-news/ |archive-date=13 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Animals used for scientific purposes |url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/3r/key_resources/databases_en.htm |publisher=European Union |access-date=15 May 2016}}</ref>