: Legislation at the time restricted the legal supply of cadavers to executed criminals, which was insufficient for the growing number of medical students.
: The story follows a medical student named Fettes who is tasked with receiving bodies for his professor. He eventually recognizes one of the "donations" as a man named Gray, whom he had seen alive and well just hours before. Body Snatchers
: To avoid detection, snatchers typically only stole the body, leaving behind clothes and jewelry, as stealing personal property carried much harsher legal penalties than "disturbing a grave". : Legislation at the time restricted the legal
In the 18th and 19th centuries, "body snatchers" (also known as resurrectionists) were individuals who exhumed recently buried corpses to sell them to medical schools for anatomical dissection. : To avoid detection, snatchers typically only stole
: The practice largely ended with the Anatomy Act of 1832 , which legalized the use of unclaimed bodies from hospitals and workhouses for medical research, effectively destroying the black market.
: Stevenson uses the grisly trade to explore themes of moral decay, the "shattering" of a man's conscience, and the chilling realization that scientific progress can sometimes come at a horrific human cost. 3. Science Fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers