Page 25 of Stiff


  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  People who work with cadavers do not, as a general rule, enjoy the spotlight. Their work is misunderstood and their funding vulnerable to negative publicity. What follows is a group of people who had every reason not to return my calls, yet did. Commander Marlene DeMaio, Colonel John Baker, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Harris, I salute your candor. Deb Marth, Albert King, John Cavanaugh, and the staff of the Wayne State impact lab, thank you for opening doors that don’t often get opened. Rick Lowden, Dennis Shanahan, Arpad Vass, and Robert White, thank you for being charming and endlessly patient while I asked inane questions and used up entire afternoons of your time.

  For helping make impossible things possible, I must thank the miraculous Sandy Wan, John Q. Owsley, Von Peterson, Hugh Patterson, and my pal Ron Walli. An especially warm thank-you to Susanne Wiigh-Masak and her family for putting up with me (and putting me up) for three days and nights. For sharing their time and tremendous knowledge, I thank Cindy Bir, Key Rey Chong, Dan Corcoran, Art Dalley, Nicole D’Ambrogio, Tim Evans, Roy Glover, John T. Greenwood, Don Huelke, Paul Israel, Gordon Kaye, Tyler Kress, Duncan MacPherson, Aris Makris, Theo Martinez, Kevin McCabe, Mack McMonigle, Bruce Latimer, Mehmet Oz, Terry Spracher, Jack Springer, Dennis Tobin, Ronn Wade, Mike Walsh, Med-O Whitson, Meg Winslow, and Frederick Zugibe.

  A big hug to Jeff Greenwald for the support and martinis, to Laura Fraser for her unflagging enthusiasm, and to Steph Gold, who spent three days of her summer vacation with me in Haikou, China, when almost anywhere else would have been more fun. I thank Clark for being Clark, Lisa Margonelli for making me laugh when all was darkest, and Ed for loving a woman who writes about cadavers.

  Special thanks must go to David Talbot, brave and brilliant founder of Salon.com, for getting the ball rolling, and to my smart and outrageously good agent, Jay Mandel. To my editor, the gifted poet and novelist Jill Bialosky, thank you endlessly for your patience, vision, and editorial grace. Every writer should be so fortunate.

  And finally, my gratitude to UM 006, H, Mr. Blank, Ben, the big guy in the sweatpants, and the owners of the forty heads. You are dead, but you’re not forgotten.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  CHAPTER 1: A HEAD IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE

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  The Lancet. “Cooper v. Wakley.” 1828–29 (1), 353–73.

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  Richardson, Ruth. Death, Dissection, and the Destitute. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987.

  Wolfe, Richard J. Robert C. Hinckley and the Recreation of the First Operation Under Ether. Boston: Boston Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, 1993.

  CHAPTER 2: CRIMES OF ANATOMY

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  The Lancet. “Human Carcass Butchers.” Editorial, 31 January 1829. 1828–29 (1), 562–63.

  ———. “The Late Horrible Murders in Edinburgh, to Obtain Subjects for Dissection.” Abridged from Edinburgh Evening Courant. 1828–29 (1), 424–31.

  Lassek, A. M. Human Dissection: Its Drama and Struggle. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas, 1958.

  O’Malley, C. D. Andreas Vesalius of Brussels 1514–1564. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1964.

  Onishi, Norimitsu. “Medical Schools Show First Signs of Healing from Taliban Abuse.” New York Times, 15 July 2002, A10.

  Ordoñez, Juan Pablo. No Human Being Is Disposable: Social Cleansing, Human Rights, and Sexual Orientation in Colombia. A joint report of the Colombia Human Rights Committee, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and Proyecto Dignidad por los Derechos Humanos en Colombia, 1995.

  Persaud, T.V.N. Early History of Human Anatomy: From Antiquity to the Beginning of the Modern Era. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas, 1984.

  Posner, Richard A., and Katharine B. Silbaugh. A Guide to America’s Sex Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.

  Rahman, Fazlur. Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition: Change and Identity. New York: Crossroad, 1987.

  Richardson, Ruth. Death, Dissection, and the Destitute. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987.

  Schultz, Suzanne M. Body Snatching: The Robbing of Graves for the Education of Physicians in Early Nineteenth Century America. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1991.

  Yarbro, Stan. “In Colombia, Recycling Is a Deadly Business.” Los Angeles Times, 14 April 1992.

  CHAPTER 3: LIFE AFTER DEATH

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  Quigley, Christine. The Corpse: A History. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1996.

  Strub, Clarence G., and L. G. “Darko” Frederick. The Principles and Practice of Embalming. 4th edition. Dallas: L. G. Frederick, 1967.

  CHAPTER 4: DEAD MAN DRIVING

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  Edwards, Gillian M. “Case of Bulimia Nervosa Presenting with Acute, Fatal Abdominal Distension.” Letter to the editor in The Lancet, April 6, 1985. 822–23.

  King, Albert I. “Occupant Kinematics and Impact Biomechanics.” In Crashworthiness of Transportation Systems: Structural Impact and Occupant Protection. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997.

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  Le Fort, René. The Maxillo-Facial Works of René Le Fort. Edited and translated by Hugh B. Tilson, Arthur S. McFee, and Harold P. Soudah. Houston: University of Texas Dental Branch.

  Matikainen, Martii. “Spontaneous Rupture of the Stomach.” American Journal of Surgery 138: 451–52.

  O’Connell, Helen E., et al. “Anatomical Relationship Between Urethra and Clitoris.” Journal of Urology 159: 1892–97 (June 1998).

  Patrick, Lawrence. “Forces on the Human Body in Simulated Crashes.” In Proceedings of the Ninth Stapp Car Crash Conference—October 20–21, 1965. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1966.

  ———. “Facial Injuries—Cause and Prevention.” In The Seventh Stapp Car Crash Conference—Proceedings. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas, 1963.

  ———, ed. Eighth Stapp Car Crash and Field Demonstration Conference. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1966.

  Schultz, Willibrord W., et al. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Male and Female Genitals During Coitus and Female Sexual Arousal.” British Medical Journal 319: 1596–1600 (1999).

  Severy, Derwyn, ed. The Seventh Stapp Car Crash Conference—Proceedings. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas,
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  U.S. House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Use of Human Cadavers in Automobile Crash Testing: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 95th Cong., 2d sess. 4 August 1978.

  Vinger, Paul F., Stefan M. Duma, and Jeff Crandall. “Baseball Hardness as a Risk Factor for Eye Injuries.” Archives of Ophthalmology 117: 354–58 (March 1999).

  Yang, Claire, and William E. Bradley. “Peripheral Distribution of the Human Dorsal Nerve of the Penis.” Journal of Urology 159: 1912–17 (June 1998).

  CHAPTER 5: BEYOND THE BLACK BOX

  Clark, Carl, Carl Blechschmidt, and Fay Gorden. “Impact Protection with the ‘Airstop’ Restraint System. In The Eighth Stapp Car Crash and Field Demonstration Conference—Proceedings. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1966.

  Mason, J. K., and W. J. Reals, eds. Aerospace Pathology. Chicago: College of American Pathologists Foundation, 1973.

  ———, and S.W. Tarlton. “Medical Investigation of the Loss of the Comet 4B Aircraft, 1967.” Lancet, March 1, 1969, 431–34.

  Snyder, Richard G. “Human Survivability of Extreme Impacts in Free-Fall.” Civil Aeromedical Research Institute, August 1963. Reproduced by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va., publication AD425412.

  Synder, Richard G., and Clyde C. Snow. “Fatal Injuries Resulting from Extreme Water Impact.” Civil Aeromedical Institute, September 1968. Reproduced by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va., publication AD688424.

  Vosswinkel, James A., et al. “Critical Analysis of Injuries Sustained in the TWA Flight 800 Midair Disaster.” Journal of Trauma 47 (4): 617–21.

  Whittingham, Sir Harold, W. K. Stewart, and J.A. Armstrong. “Interpretation of Injuries in the Comet Aircraft Disasters.” Lancet, June 4, 1955, 1135–44.

  CHAPTER 6: THE CADAVER WHO JOINED THE ARMY

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  MacPherson, Duncan. Bullet Penetration: Modeling the Dynamics and the Incapacitation Resulting from Wound Trauma. El Segundo, Calif.: Ballistic Publications, 1994.

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  CHAPTER 7: HOLY CADAVER

  Barbet, Pierre. A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as Described by a Surgeon. Fort Collins, Colo.: Roman Catholic Books, 1953.

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  ———. “Pierre Barbet Revisited.” Sindon N.S. Quad. No. 8, December 1995.

  CHAPTER 8: HOW TO KNOW IF YOU’RE DEAD

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  French, R. K. Robert Whytt, The Soul, and Medicine. London: Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine, 1969.

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  Kraft, I.A. “Psychiatric Complications of Cardiac Transplantation.” Seminars in Psychiatry 3: 89–97 (1971).

  Macdougall, Duncan. “Hypothesis Concerning Soul Substance Together with Experimental Evidence of the Existence of Such Substance.” American Medicine II (4): 240–43 (April 1907).

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  Nutton, Vivian. “The Anatomy of the Soul in Early Renaissance Medicine.” In The Human Embryo: Aristotle and the Arabic and European Traditions. Exeter, Devon: University of Exeter Press, 1990.

  Pearsall, Paul. The Heart’s Code: Tapping the Wisdom and Power of Our Heart Energy. New York: Broadway Books, 1998.

  Rausch, J. B., and K. K. Kneen. “Accepting the Gift of Life: Heart Transplant Recipients’ Post-Operative Adaptive Tasks.” Social Work in Health Care 14 (1): 47–59 (1989).

  Roach, Mary. “My Quest for Qi.” Health. March 1997, 100–104.

  Tabler, James B., and Robert L. Frierson. “Sexual Concerns after Heart Transplantation.” Journal of Heart Transplantation 9 (4): 397–402 (July/August 1990).

  Whytt, Robert. The Works of Robert Whytt, M.D., Late Physician to His Majesty. Edinburgh: 1751.

  Youngner, Stuart J., et al. “Psychosocial and Ethical Implications of Organ Retrieval.” New England Journal of Medicine 313 (5): 321–23 (1 August 1985).

  CHAPTER 9: JUST A HEAD

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  Fallaci, Oriana. “The Dead Body and the Living Brain.” Look, 28 November 1967.

  Guthrie, Charles Claude. Blood Vessel Surgery and Its Applications. Reprint, with a biographical note on Dr. Guthrie by Samuel P. Harbison and Bernard Fisher. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1959.

  Hayem, G., and G. Barrier. “Effets de l’anémie totale de l’encephale et de ses diverses parties, étudies à l’aide la décapitation suivie des tranfusions de sang.” Archives de physiologie normale et pathologique, 1887 Series 3, Volume X. Landmarks II. Microfiche.

  Kershaw, Alister. A History of the Guillotine. London: John Calder, 1958.

  Laborde, J.-V. “L’excitabilité cérébrale après décapitation: nouvelle expériences sur deux suppliciés: Gagny et Heurtevent.” Revue Scientifique, 28 November 1885, 673–77.

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  ———. “Recherches expérimentales sur la tête et le corps d’un supplicié (Campi).” Revue Scientifique, 21 June 1884, 777–86.

  Soubiran, André. The Good Doctor Guillotin and His Strange Device. Translated by Malcolm MacCraw. London: Souvenir Press, 1964.

  White, Robert J., et al. “Cephalic Exchange Transplantation in the Monkey.” Surgery 70 (1): 135–39.

  ———, et al. “The Isolation and Transplantation of the Brain: An Historical Perspective Emphasizing the Surgical Solutions to the Design of These Classical Models.” Neurological Research 18: 194–203 (June 1996).

  CHAPTER 10: EAT ME

  Bernstein, Adam M., Harry P. Koo, and David A. Bloom. “Beyond the Trendelenburg Position: Friedrich Trendelenburg’s Life and Surgical Contributions.” Surgery 126 (1): 78–82.