Resurrectionists

Resurrectionists were individuals in the 18th and 19th centuries who illegally exhumed recently buried bodies from cemeteries to sell them to medical schools for study and dissection. Driven by high demand for cadavers in anatomy, they often operated covertly, risking legal penalties. Their activities helped meet the need for human specimens before laws restricted such practices. The term reflects their role in “resurrecting” bodies from graves to supply the medical community.