The Mystery of The Corpse

In medical studies, the human cadaver as a learning material is associated with the Anatomy course. When the Faculty of Medicine of the CLAEH University inaugurated a new practical workroom, very adequate and functional, for this subject, the Dean asked me to expose some thoughts about the human corpse. This prompted me to new reflections. I had previously delved countless times into life, death, and the forms and circumstances of one and the other, but I had not stopped to think deeply, taking the corpse itself as a subject. That request motivated me, and what I am writing is centered on my own experiences, feelings, and reflections through time in front of a dead human body. I insist on making this remark, because if this were intended to be a scholarly essay, the corpse should be approached within the immense subject of death and in depth from multiples points of view: historical, anthropological, religious, psychological, philosophical, and others. I think it would deserve a whole book. Although I will refer to various aspects, my essay is based on my experiences and feelings and will be biased not only by my conception of life, but also by the circumstance that motivated the encounter: the inauguration of a new room for dissecting human corpses for medical training purposes.